Darkness Is a Friend of Mine
by Muse's Inspiration
Summary: They know each other in the most primal of ways. They have no option but to work with each other. Will they survive it? UPDATED 16DEC08 w/ re-worked chapters & new chapter!
1. Prologue

**Title: **Darkness Is A Friend Of Mine | PROLOGUE

**Author:Musesinspire**

**Rating:** R (language, violence, relationships later in story)

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing other than my computer and my car. Buffy belongs to Whedon and Riddick belongs to Vin, One Race and whoever else helped produce it.

_Dangerous._

Funny how a predator can always sense one of its own when near. I knew danger approached without even opening my eyes. And I knew that it thought I was its prey. It hunted me, thinking it could catch me unawares. But I knew it was there... just had to open my eyes and I could see it, stalking me.

My lips twitched as I debated whether or not to acknowledge this 'threat'. Should I play the game? Or should I just deal with it, get it over with...? Not much was a challenge anymore.

I sighed.

I heard a slight grunt of pain as the guard at the door was dispatched. Smart. Take out what blocks your exit. From the scent in the blood; it smelled like a gut wound. Never cared for those  
personally, too messy. However, if done right, effective. But the quality of this kill was excellent. Still hadn't heard a sound from the Stalker.

A shadow fell over me. The sensation of eyes on me became so strong as to be tactile. I sensed movement towards me and I tensed for the attack. Fuck playing the game. It's time to show them why I'm under guard. It's time to show them who they're dealing with.

It's time to teach them what it meant to take on The Slayer.


	2. Chapter One

**Title: **Darkness Is A Friend Of Mine | Chapter ONE

**Author:Musesinspire**

**Rating:** R (language, violence, relationships later in story)

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing other than my computer and my car. Buffy belongs to Whedon and Riddick belongs to Vin, One Race and whoever else helped produce it.

I tucked you in, warm within,  
Keep you free from sin.  
-Enter Sandman: Metallica

**********

I looked around me and all I felt was anger. This was what I had fought for? This was what I  
had given up my life for? Tara was a vegetable and would probably never recover. I had lost Angel and Riley... well; we weren't going to go there right now. My friends were wounded and Dawn... My sister's smooth innocent flesh was cut; crying as she bled crimson drops into the portal. Top things off and make them really special, a Hell Dimension was trying to merge with the Hellmouth. Christ on a crutch! - was it ever going to be enough?!

I knew as I looked about me that I had to do this. I had to make this sacrifice. I wanted,  
needed for Dawnie to live. She was too important, both to me and to the world at large. I had never told anyone after the truth came out about her background; I had stopped loving her like a sister. No one had thought enough about it to put two and two together except for Spike, of all people. Dawnie was my daughter. I loved her above all else and I would die for her twice over if I thought that it meant she would live.

She was made of me, my blood ran through her veins and I would do anything to insure that it never stopped running. She was given into my care and I'd be damned if I'd let that bitch, Glory win and harm Dawnie.

I turned to Dawnie and I couldn't stop the tears. I looked at her and I saw the amazing  
woman she'd become in a few years. Just like any parent, I had gotten so wrapped in the burdens of life and providing care that I hadn't stopped to look at the beauty of my child. I saw the loveliness of her face, the glint of unrecognized intelligence and the steel of courage in her gaze, and the tilt of determination in her head. I was in awe of the fact that she had come from me.

* "I have to jump. The energy.... Buffy, I know about the ritual. I have to stop it."

"No."

"I have to. Look at what's happening. Buffy, you have to let me go. Blood starts it, and until  
the blood stops flowing, it'll never stop!"

I looked back at the merging worlds and I could see the horrors that were trying to emerge into  
our reality.

"You know you have to let me. It has to have the blood."

I looked back at Dawnie and I smiled sadly. What I was about to do, she'd not understand for years to come. But one day she would and I took comfort in that. This was something I had to do. I just hoped that eventually everyone would forgive me for what I had to do and see that it was, truly, the only way to end all of this.

"Buffy, no!"

"Dawnie, I have to."

"No!"

"Listen to me. Please, there's not a lot of time, listen."

I stepped over to her and I pulled her close, holding her like I should have always done. I began to tell her everything she needed to know.

"You're my daughter, Dawnie, and no parent should ever outlive their child. Live, Dawnie!  
Love, marry and don't ever be afraid. Don't be anything other than what you are. You're my  
daughter, so I know you can do it. You're strong. I love you.

Tell Angel I'm sorry. I always did what The Slayer felt was best, rather than what The  
Woman wanted. Tell Xander, Willow and Anya that I love them and to miss me, but that this is  
what I wanted to do, it's my decision. Tell Giles I love him. He has been my father and he taught  
me well. And tell Spike... tell Spike to keep looking. He can find redemption, he just can't give  
up."

"Buffy, no!"

"I have to Dawnie! I need you to live, so that I know that something I did was beautiful and  
right and not just death. This is what's best and I will always do what's best for you!"

I held her close one last second and then I stepped away, smoothing her hair away from her face  
and softly wiping the tears from her eyes. I gazed at my beautiful daughter and ached with the  
knowledge that I wouldn't see her grow up. I smiled and turned back to the portal. I stepped up to the edge of the platform and took a deep breath. I had to do it now, or I wouldn't be able to....

"Buffy!"

I glanced back over my shoulder and saw Dawn crying.

"I... I love you.... Mom. I love you!"

I smiled, nodded as I closed my eyes and then… I jumped.

**********

They all heard Dawn cry out Buffy's name from up on the platform and looked in time  
to see Buffy jump from the dais and begin her descent toward the portal. Their voices joined together, crying out in denial; but no one could stop the painful reality of what was happening.

No one saw the tears streaming from Buffy's eyes as she left everyone she loved behind.

Moments later she was gone....

**********

Even though there was no body, they had a funeral service for Buffy. It was held in the  
evening so that Angel and Spike could attend. Giles performed the eulogy and no one could keep  
the tears at bay when he broke down at the part where he explained that she was like the daughter he'd never had. Surprisingly enough, it was Anya who exhibited enough tact to keep everyone together and get through the service.

In a small corner plot of the cemetery, they chose the spot for Buffy's headstone. They had  
all argued endlessly over what the epitaph would say, but Dawn had put her foot down and won.

**********

BUFFY SUMMERS  
Champion, Mother, Daughter  
1981-2001  
BELOVED SISTER  
DEVOTED FRIEND  
SHE SAVED THE WORLD  
A LOT


	3. Chapter Two

**Title: **Darkness Is A Friend Of Mine | Chapter TWO

**Author:Musesinspire**

**Rating:** R (language, violence, relationships later in story)

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing other than my computer and my car. Buffy belongs to Whedon and Riddick belongs to Vin, One Race and whoever else helped produce it.

It's Ok to hurt and it's OK to cry,  
Come let me hold you and I will try,  
How can I help you, to say goodbye?  
~How Can I Help You to Say Goodbye? - Patty Loveless

*****

Floating.

Soft, warm, comfortable.

Endless. Not dark, not light.

Void, but no pain.

Peace, such peace.

I became aware of these things at about the same time I became aware of someone calling  
my name.

"Elizabeth. Wake up."

I began to look around, but all I could see was the void, that complete and endless void. I  
recognized the voice, but I had to struggle to place it.

"Elizabeth, now! You're needed! Wake up!"

The voice was familiar. I knew if I could just get myself to concentrate, I'd remember  
who it was. Squinting, I thought; searching my memory. I knew this voice! Who was it?

"Elizabeth, please! We need you! Please wake up!"

Suddenly it hit me and I started in shock. I'm stunned and I have to say more than a little  
unnerved. I didn't know how, but it was my mother! That's my mother, my dead mother calling  
me!

I struggled with myself. I thought that since I had given my life doing a Slayer's duty  
and a Mother's obligation, I'd be given my Gift; I'd go to Heaven. But obviously if I was  
hearing my mother ordering me around, then the Powers had once again screwed me. How  
much more were they going to take from me? I'd died to save my daughter and now I couldn't  
even have peace?

"Elizabeth Ann Summers! Wake UP! NOW!"

Three names. It was never a good sign when mothers used the whole name. One  
name, they were mildly annoyed. First and last names, they were irritated. All three names, the  
wrath of God doesn't even come close to what you were going to be facing. I figured that  
caution was the better part of valor and decided that now would be a really good time to respond  
to her.

"Mom? What's wrong? What's going on?"

Instead of getting a response, there was a sudden brilliance of light flashing around me  
and I had the sensation that I was moving rapidly, almost like I was flying. As quickly as it had  
started, it stopped and I found myself standing on a beach.

I was disoriented from the quickness of the alteration and half-blind from the sudden change from the black void to the bright sunlight, but I forced myself to keep standing and made myself look around at my surroundings. The sand was white and warm and so very soft and the sky was a perfectly cloudless, azure blue. I heard the waves lapping against the shore and the gulls crying out as they hovered on the slight breeze that gently stirred the air and the soft,  
flowing material of the sundress that I was now wearing.

I smiled softly to myself and I recognized where I was. Mom and I had spent a wonderful week here right after her and Dad had gotten divorced. This was where I had spent my last little bit of innocence and peace before everything had changed and I had become the Slayer. I treasured that time. It was one of my favorite memories.

"Elizabeth!"

I heard my mother call me again and I turned sharply in response. I couldn't help but jump a little when I saw that she was standing directly behind me. I must be really slipping or she was really good, because I had had no idea that she was even there. I gazed at her, not really believing that she was there. The last time I had really seen her, she'd looked so small and vulnerable; lying dead on the couch in the living room. Now she looked so vital and healthy; robust, cheerful and happy. I couldn't help the small cry that escaped and I launched myself at her. Wrapping my arms around her and smelling her familiar 'mom' scent. I hadn't realized how much I had missed her until she wrapped her arms around me. I felt that comforting Joyce Summers hug settle around me and I just couldn't hold back the tears any longer. I let go for the first time in since I had become the Slayer and I cried. I cried for my mother, my friends, my lovers, my lost youth and innocence. But most of all I cried for leaving Dawn behind. I cried like I had never cried before and all I could do was be grateful that my mother was there for me when I needed her.

After what seemed, and felt, like an eternity, I was able to get myself somewhat under  
control. Sniffling, I stepped back and mopped up my face all the while wondering what was  
going on and why my mother was here with me. Whatever it was, I had a sinking feeling that it wasn't good and that I wasn't going to like it. I took a deep breath and tamped all my emotions down.

"Mom? Not that I'm not like all grateful or anything, but... um... why are we here? What's... what's going on?"

My mother looked at me for a minute and then smiled. She turned away and that's when  
I got the feeling that something was horribly wrong. There suddenly seemed to be a sense of  
urgency around me, around her. I looked at her and the sight of her dressed in the clothes that she had been in when I found her that awful day made me angry. So very angry. What? Was this supposed to be 'Buffy blindly follows while everyone else leads' time or something? Mom looked back at me and gestured for me to follow her. I honestly thought about refusing her. But as I watched her head up the hill to our spot; Lighthouse Pointe, I knew I couldn't do it. She was my mother and I couldn't give up what time with her I might have. I knew, with something that superseded even a Slayer's instincts, that something was wrong and I knew I had to find out what it was, whether I liked it or not.

I followed Mom up the hill.

At the top of the hill, my mother was sitting on the bench in the shadows of the lighthouse, waiting for me. I looked around and noticed that everything; the water, the sky, the lighthouse… all of it, seemed different... darker, more sinister. Shadows seemed to be suddenly everywhere.

"I don't have much time, sweetie. I'm not as strong as you are now. The darkness is  
coming and it doesn't like me. It's taken a lot of my strength to find you and wake you. But I  
had to speak with you first before They sent you back. They don't understand about certain  
things and you wouldn't have been ready. I couldn't let that happen."

I know I must have looked as confused as I felt. I had no idea what she was talking about. Who were They? Where were 'They' sending me? And what was so important that I was once again being ripped away from my Gift to take care of it? I was just about ready to start jumping up and  
down like a two year old and demanding answers. Hey, I never claimed I was always the most mature of Slayers, ok? But then I noticed that Mom was looking pale sweaty. The breeze blew a few strands of hair into her eyes and when she lifted a hand to brush them out of the way,  
I saw that she was shaking. Concerned, I saw that she was watching me as if committing all of me to memory. I thought to ask if she was OK, but she suddenly stood and walked over to me; speaking words that I don't think I could forget even if I tried.

"Into every generation a girl is born. A girl to fight the darkness and hold it at bay. With each girl, there is but a brief light, a life cut short, for evil hates and the darkness is hungry. This  
generation had two girls, for when one falls, another is called. But one was called too soon, for  
the other's strength of heart and will were severely underestimated. So the Powers had to make a decision and They decided to leave the girls to deal with each other on their own. One was  
Light, one was Dark. Opposites of like.

Light had found that she needed and because of this, she was strong. She admitted her  
weaknesses and found strength in learning to work around them. She found Love. But Dark  
found herself alone and she was weak.

Light was given a Task. Flesh from her flesh, Blood from her blood. She was entrusted to protect, at all costs, the Key. The Powers knew that she was the only hope in keeping the Key safe until the Key could protect itself.

Light sacrificed herself out of a mother's love so that her Flesh and Blood could continue to live. As such, Light was given the ultimate reward for the Power's Warriors and was sent to Valhalla, the Warrior's Paradise.

But Dark was angry and felt betrayed. She discovered in her quest for power a way to unlock the powers and evils that had been sleeping since the Powers had become Aware. The evils escaped her control and started to hunt for a way to open the Birthplace. Dark realized what she had done and in the final moments, as she fought to keep the Key safe, she found Redemption. She sent a call to the First Slayer and asked her to bestow a gift to Light so that she were better able to fight this new evil. The gift she bestowed was the Gift of Dark and she gave her a warning: You are alone, but you are not weak. Fight! Find her and save her!"

I sat, stunned. My daughter was a pawn that everyone thought they could use to open gates and portals for power. I had died to save her, so that she could live and be able to grow up and take care of herself, and the Powers had let her be taken?! I saw red… I felt so much anger that I wanted to scream. I stalked over to the lighthouse and punched the wall. The sight of what I had done was staggering.

I had punched through the wall. All eighteen inches of it.

I blinked in astonishment and then all I could do was stare at the damage.

This was new.

I looked at my mother and raised an eyebrow.

"You're stronger now, Buffy. Not only do you have the strength of being the Chosen One, the Slayer and the Light, but you also have the strength of the Damned, the Dark. You have to be careful, Buffy. There's great power in darkness, but there's also great danger. Faith discovered this too late, but knew you'd need help to save Dawn. She's in great danger, Buffy. The Darkness took her and will try to open the Gates of Night. When that happens...."

Again, I felt rage building in me when I thought of what Dawn was going through right now and I wanted to kill Faith, redemption or no.

"Buffy! You have to learn control. Darkness is with you now. Anger, hate, rage, greed... These all feed darkness. It's why the demons only come out at night. You have to control it or it will control you. There is no middle ground. This gift Faith gave you; it's a blessing and a curse, honey."

I looked around and I knew that I had to find Dawnie. I had to.

"Where is she? How do I find her, Mom?"

"I don't know, honey. You'll have to find her on your own. The Powers are going to send you to where she was taken from. You are the Slayer, let your instincts guide you... but remember, you're also a Mother, don't forget to use those instincts as well. Sometimes they are stronger that you would expect..."

Mom glanced out at the water and nodded then looked back at me and took my face in her hands. I could feel her trembling with weakness and hated that she felt like that. She looked  
deep into my eyes and said, "I never wanted to leave you and Dawn, Buffy. But I wasn't given a  
choice. I was always thankful that I had the time I did have with you. You have to let go of the anger, Buffy. Everything happens for a reason. And always remember what I'd sing to you when you were a little girl: 'Time will ease your pain, life's about changing, nothing ever stays the same.' I've made my peace with things. Now you must as well."

I put my hands on top of hers and held tight. I had missed her so much, but I had been so  
angry that she had left us, too. I nodded to let her know that I had heard her and that I understood.

"Are you ready?"

"Not really, but hey! - I'm a fly by the seat of my pants kind of girl!"

Mom laughed and I blew her a kiss. I could feel the wind picking up and it started to howl  
around us. I yelled out to her, "I love you, Mom! Thank you!"

She looked sad for a moment and then she called out, "I know you do, Buffy. Go find, Dawnie! Go find my granddaughter!"

The howling wind caught me up in its fury and suddenly it was so bright and so cold, I thought I was dying again.

And then... there was nothing.


	4. Chapter Three

**Title: **Darkness Is A Friend Of Mine | Chapter THREE

**Author:Musesinspire**

**Rating:** R (language, violence, relationships later in story)

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing other than my computer and my car. Buffy belongs to Whedon and Riddick belongs to Vin, One Race and whoever else helped produce it.

"I thought you said it was clear!"

"I said it *looked* clear."

"Well, how about now?"

"…looks clear."

-Pitch Black

…'*Riddick*'…

The voice ghosted across his mind, startling him into awareness. As he lay there contemplating the darkness, he couldn't help but wonder if he was losing his mind. At the oddest times, he'd hear her voice, almost as if she were still alive.

…'*Riddick*'…

She was gone! She had died to save him, bastard that he was. The one person whom he'd let himself give a damn about, the only family he could remember had died to save his sorry ass. He'd failed her. He'd also learned that it was painfully obvious that he was supposed to be alone. If the mercs didn't get you, death would.

…'*Riddick*'…

Fuck! He missed the kid, though. Once they had gotten past the whole 'hero worship' bit, she'd turned out to be a decent kid. He was a con, a killer, not a fuckin' hero! But Jack never saw it like that. She'd made him be something else for a little while, think about someone else for a little while. Maybe that was why he couldn't get her out of his mind. Or maybe he was just slowly going crazy…

'Fuckin' pathetic. Kid's gone, con. Get over it, get your head clear, or you'll be an easy mark. You still have some scores to settle. Toombs might be runnin', but he'll have to stop sometime. And when he does….'

He ginned a predatory smile.

'When he stops… he's mine.'

…'*Riddick*'…

"Fuck! When's this shit gonna stop?!" he shouted to the empty room. He sighed and finally gave up. "No rest for the wicked." He muttered as he got up. He may have left the Necros behind, but he still had a ship and crew to run.

He looked over the sparse room and shrugged. His needs were simple: eat, sleep, survive and the occasional quick piece of ass and he was satisfied. He walked over to the toilet area and splashed some water on his face, then leaned over the sink, staring into the mirror. The little bit of illumination caused to water droplets to reflect, making it look like he had a glow surrounding him for a moment. He grimaced and shook himself, breaking the spell.

'You are what you are, Riddick. No sense in trying to change it now.'

He got out his razor and began shaving.

"So, what the fuck is it?" Riddick demanded.

Johnson, the Sensor Ops Engineer, looked every bit as perplexed as Riddick felt.

"I have no idea, sir. It didn't even show up at first. When we came out of jump and I saw that we were nowhere near our original coordinates, I immediately started scanning the area. But something told me do a more in-depth scan on that area there and that's when it registered. But as to what it is… your guess is as good as mine."

Riddick grunted to let Johnson know he'd heard him, but his mind was racing furiously. First, they had misjumped, but the computers and navigation showed no sign of being tampered with. Then, when they came out of jump, they got a reading that no one had ever seen. Riddick wasn't one to accept coincidences. And whatever was out there, he had a feeling he'd rather face a black hole than deal with it. It wasn't just a random energy reading, either. It was stable and it was staying consistent in all its readings. But the real kicker was when they went to the screens, not a damn thing showed up except for the emptiness of space.

… '*Riddick*'…

'Not right now, kid! I can't deal with this and with you at the same time.' He kneaded the back of his neck with one hand while he puzzled over what was going out there in front of his ship.

…'*Tavrchedl*'…

Riddick felt all senses go on full alert. This was a new voice. Deep, commanding, and most definitely not Jack's!

"Goddammit, Aereon!" he snapped. "What's going on?!" He may not like the Elemental, since he felt that she was primarily (along with himself) responsible for Jack's death; but she did have her uses.

"Yes, Riddick?" she answered, flowing into substance next to him.

"What's out there, Lady? You've been around, you're old. What secrets do you know?"

Bewildered and suddenly feeling a sense of cautious watchfulness, Aereon stilled. Riddick watched as her eyes slowly lost focus and she began stretching out her senses. As always, he felt the tingling at the back of his neck when she did this and knew that she was brushing his mind as well.

Seeking outward with her senses, she caught something. But before she could grasp what it was, it was gone. But not before Riddick caught it, too.

As she quickly came back into awareness of her immediate surroundings, she saw Riddick lift his head like a wolf catching a scent and he stilled. He turned towards his Security Officer, Vaako. The man had left the Necros behind, pledging his loyalty to Riddick. The Furyan's words to his S.O. were something that Aereon had hoped she wouldn't hear.

"Something's on the ship."

Vaako started in surprise and immediately began running scans of the ships. He may have left the Necros behind, but he didn't want to face Riddick's wrath if he let the Furyan down. The scan results made his heart sink to his stomach.

"The scans show nothing. Everyone is accounted for, including the Elemental. There are no extra readings. According to this, there is no one, and nothing else on the ship."

Riddick's instincts were never wrong. He knew there was something on his ship. He could feel it. He turned towards Aereon, but she was staring at the view screen, completely transfixed. He glanced at the screen to see what had captivated the woman and couldn't help the double-take.

The empty blackness of space had changed. It was no longer a blank canvas of darkness, but had become a light show that would rival the mythical 'Northern Lights' from Terra.

Lights in every shade from lightest pink to darkest green scintillated over themselves in ever-widening waves. Glowing and beautiful, no one on the bridge of the ship could tear their eyes from the wondrous lightshow.

Suddenly, a line appeared in the center of the colors of the whitest light, growing brighter with each pulsing wave that the colors sent out.

Riddick could hear Johnson yelling about the readings being off the scale and he could hear Vaako putting everyone on red alert, but he found himself unable to respond to any of it. It was as if he were frozen in place. Suddenly, he felt the briefest touch on his mind. Fleeting though it was, it left him shaken, for he had never felt power like that before.

Aereon turned from the screens and looked at Riddick. She was shaken and pale. Her eyes got a faraway look in them for a long moment and then she caught Riddick's gaze again and held it.

"He's here, Riddick."

"What are you talking about?"

"He wasn't going to interfere, but they left him no choice."

"Interfere with what?"

"May the Powers have mercy on us, because he won't... The Grandfather has left his prison that he built for himself and his children. He's awake and he wants you, Riddick!"

"Aereon, I am not playing 20 fucking questions. One last time, who are you talking about?!"

"Yaskotay." And she phased out.

…'*Guardian*'…

____________________________________________________________________

Author's Notes II:

1. Tavrchedl Tahv'ruh'sh'doll

2. Yaskotay Yahs'koe'tay


	5. Chapter Four: History 101

**Title: **Darkness Is A Friend Of Mine | Chapter FOUR

**Author:Musesinspire**

**Rating:** R (language, violence, relationships later in story)

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing other than my computer and my car. Buffy belongs to Whedon and Riddick belongs to Vin, One Race and whoever else helped produce it.

Oh how the mighty have fallen,

And how the weak have risen.

-unknown

In the beginning, there was darkness, and the Lord said, "Let there be light." And there was light. But the Lord discovered that the darkness was not empty, but filled of creatures. Creatures whose realm was of the blackest darkness and were the makings of Evil and Malice.

The creatures disliked the light and so tried to regain their realm of darkness. They fought for control of the Lord's domain. There was a great battle between the creatures of darkness and the Lord's Army of Light. Many losses and casualties took place. But with Darkness' defeat, the Lord was left with no choice but to banish them; locking the creatures away.

But Evil was a determined Master and its denizens continued to try and escape its prison. The Lord saw that the darkness would keep seeking to try and dominate the Light, and so he began searching the universe for a way to maintain control.

In an area of space far away from the Lord's most glorious creation of Earth, there was a species of creature called the Droyne. They were the creations of the Lord's brothers and sisters. Reptilian bird-like in appearance, while simple in needs and way of life, and long-lived, the Droyne were nonetheless an intelligent species. As the Lord observed, one of the creatures began developing more rapidly, leaping up through the evolutionary chain. The creature began to see, hear, and understand concepts as well as develop senses that the others of his species had not. As such, he began to rise up, rule and teach the other Droyne. Under his tutelage, the Droyne began to advance in every manner, from making leaps in the sciences, to developing the use of psionics. They had no equal in technology, economy, or society. In them, the Lord saw a way to keep the darkness under control. But the Droyne fell under the divine rule of the Powers.

The Lord took his plea to his brothers and sisters. They saw that this darkness was a threat to all of creation and must be kept under lock, banished forever. They agreed that the Lord may speak to their children, the Droyne.

The Lord and the leader of the Droyne, the Grandfather, came to an agreement and the Droyne collected some of the Lord's creations called Man. The Droyne engineered these 'men' so that they would have abilities to fight the Darkness, giving them intelligence, speed and strength, and then began scattering them throughout the universe with the knowledge to keep Evil at bay.

The Droyne kept some of the men with them and began training them in the Droyne manner. They were trained to be fierce fighters, stronger, faster, and to have control over their latent psionic ability. These men became the race called Zhodani and they became the soldiers and workers of the Droyne. The strongest and fiercest of them eventually became to be known as Furyans, proud warriors that had no equal in skill.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Darkness had not gone quietly, however, and had been plotting and planning through the millennia. It had found small weaknesses in their prison. They had discovered portals that opened into another dimension known as Hell that allowed small numbers of the creatures back into the realm of Light.

Darkness found its way to farthest reaches of the realm of Light and the Lord and the Powers were dismayed to see that not even the mighty Droyne were immune to the corrupting influence of Evil and Malice. They watched in sadness and defeat as the Great Droyne Wars began and the younger Droyne attempted to usurp the Grandfather's power.

The Grandfather tried to not interfere, but saw that with each new weapon of destruction that his children created, the Droyne were closer and closer to annihilation. Searching, he found a region of space that was unexplored and uninhabited and finally all, including the Divine Powers saw what he was truly capable of. He took the area of space and 'folded' it, creating his own 'pocket universe'.

He instructed the Zhodani and their descendants to guard the Gates that keep the Armies of Evil and Malice from fully breaking free and then took the Droyne that remained faithful to him and went into the world that he'd created. Once within, he sealed it, making it so that none could enter or leave unless he allowed it.

The remaining Droyne continued to fight amongst themselves causing death and destruction the likes of which had never before been seen. The war had the potential to last eons, but stories tell of one side of the warring factions creating a weapon of such magnitude that it destroyed a sun, and thus, the war ended.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Darkness had been cheated of its chance for escape and the mighty Droyne faded into mythology, known down through the ages only as The Ancients. All that remained of them were the stories of their wars, the ruins of their once mighty cities and strange artifacts that would continue to be found throughout the years.

And so the creatures waited, knowing that their chance would come again and the secrets of the great Furyan warriors faded into stories told to children at bedtime.

…but legends will always survive.


	6. Chapter Five

**Title: **Darkness Is A Friend Of Mine | Chapter FIVE

**Author:Musesinspire**

**Rating:** R (language, violence, relationships later in story)

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing other than my computer and my car. Buffy belongs to Whedon and Riddick belongs to Vin, One Race and whoever else helped produce it.

Remember, you can climb to the top of anything,

But then, you must always fall…uh, come, down.

-?

OK, so just once, I'd like to wake up in a someplace like Bermuda. I'm just putting that out there now, so that we have no, and I repeat, no misunderstandings. First time, I came back in a nasty cave. Second time, I came back in a casket buried under six feet of damp earth.

Now the third time… ahh… someone outdid themselves this time. Third time, I come back and it's in a freakin' desert! You know, maybe there's a contest going on up there. One of those 'Let's see which one of us can come up with the absolute worst place on Earth to bring her back at' games. So far, it's been three for three in the Major Suck department.

Maybe I'm whining. I'm willing to admit that it could be a possibility. I'm human, I whine. But still, this can't be fair. I died to save Dawn and the world from a Hell-Merge, went to Heaven, saw my mother, was informed that I now have Darth Vader's Dark-side of the Force in me, only to end up… here.

Wow.

Call me amazed. I don't think I can recall being more underwhelmed. This cup is definitely not going to runneth over anytime soon. Now that I think about it, there's almost a sense of cosmic irony at work here.

I don't remember much after leaving my mother; just some lights, a lot of wind, a lot of pain and then nothing, just blackness. The next thing I knew, I woke up here, in the shade next to some boulders, in a white nightgown-like thing, a rucksack with (hopefully) some gear in it, and a lizard the size of my hand sitting near my head staring at me like I had three eyes and five arms. All in all, it was definitely not on my Top Ten List.

And so, here I am. Wow. No one nearby, no clue where I am and no idea of where to go. Hell, I don't even where to start looking for Dawn! Maybe I'm a little more than underwhelmed; let's move that up a spot to say, I dunno, whelmed? Is that even a word?

Christ! Where the hell am I?! I really should have paid better attention in Ms. Hutchins' fourth grade Geography class! But they always say that Algebra is what will eventually save your life!

OK, so since I have absolutely no idea what's going on, I'll start with something simple.

Like clothes. Clothes are good. Maybe there are some clothes in the bag?

I dug through the bag and was no more enthused. Whoever had packed this thing really needed a lesson in essentials. As I pulled each item out and set it to the side, I couldn't help but get a little more dismayed. I had clothes, black ones, consisting of: black uniform-like pants and shirt, black tank top, black boots, black cap and, yes, you guessed it, black underwear! I also had a compass (like I know how to use that!), a water canteen (yes! – water, I won't die…yet), a land navigation map that claims I'm in Nevada somewhere, several things called MREs (I don't even want to know!), emergency blanket, sunscreen, basic first aid kit, matches, survival knife, a Leatherman, rope, rain poncho (I looked at the dry, dusty boulders and couldn't help but roll my eyes), a flashlight and last but not least, a 'pocket fisherman'.

Wow. You know, I never realized that there was such an abundance of water in

Nevada. Makes you think.

The lizard came and perched itself on one of the MREs and looked at me.

"You know, if this is what the essentials are for surviving the desert, I guess it's a good thing I didn't have to go to the Arctic, huh?"

The lizard rolled an eye and flicked its tongue.

"Yeah, I know. All right, I guess I should get dressed. In my black clothes. In the desert. I will put on my black clothes, that I will wear in the desert."

The lizard ignored me.

"You know, I may be blonde, and yeah, I didn't do the greatest in school, but even I know you don't wear black in the desert!"

The lizard flicked its tongue and shifted on the MRE.

"Boy. This is some real stimulating conversation."

The lizard scurried off of the MRE and settled itself on the packaging that the emergency blanket was in.

I sighed and got dressed, trying to figure out what I was going to do with my situation. I couldn't very well just sit here and wait for someone to find me. I was going to have to figure out how to get to civilization. So, with that in mind, I grabbed my map and my compass and looked around me, noting landmarks. Then I looked at the map. Then I looked at my compass. Then I looked at my map again.

Yeah. Right. Plan B is starting to look pretty damn good.

OK, so obviously, I'm not land navving my way out of here. Slayers kill, they don't land nav. So, let's approach this logically: the sun rises in the East and sets in the West. When I woke up, the sun was on my right and if I go to that same spot, it's not at my back. Therefore, I am facing north. Got it, ok. North is good. Most everything in Nevada is north. So, north is where I'll go!

I packed everything back up in the rucksack, hoisted it up over my shoulders, checked that the survival knife was secure in the small of my back and glanced around. I noticed that the lizard was now perched on a rock about six feet away, watching me.

"Well, Godzilla, I'm off. Thanks for the titillating conversation, hope you find some shade and have fun."

About that time, the lizard jumped off his rock and scurried over to me. I watched in bemusement as it proceeded to scramble up my leg and I barely stifled the yelp that had been building as it crawled up my shirt and then proceeded to settle itself into my shirt pocket. Huh, I guess I made a friend after all.

"All right, Zilla. You can come, but there are some rules."

The lizard poked its head up out of the pocket and looked at me.

"First, no scrambling around in my clothes. That's just icky. Second, you're only hitching rides in pockets. Understand? And third, no hogging the blankets and no snoring!"

The lizard rolled an eye and settled back down into my pocket. Sighing, I straightened my shoulders, bolstered my confidence and headed off, striding towards the North. I had no clue where I was going or what I was doing, but I was doing it! I couldn't help it. The thought just came with no control.

'I'm gonna die.'


	7. Chapter Six

**Title: **Darkness Is A Friend Of Mine | Chapter SIX

**Author:Musesinspire**

**Rating:** R (language, violence, relationships later in story)

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing other than my computer and my car. Buffy belongs to Whedon and Riddick belongs to Vin, One Race and whoever else helped produce it.

"There's something on this ship. Find it!" Vaako ordered.

"But sir, the scans showed nothing else here. The cameras show nothing." One of the junior security officers protested.

"If the Captain says that there is something here, then there is something, here. Do it now; that is an order."

The security officer paused, looking like he was going to protest again. Vaako had had enough at that point. One thing about being a noble officer in the Necromonger's ranks was… he'd learned how to handle shows of insubordinance.

Vaako stood up from his seat; standing to his full, six plus foot height, set his shoulders, turned and stared down at the junior officer. "Did you have something you wish to add, Dunan?"

Dunan looked at Vaako, noting the steely look in his eyes and decided that he really needed to search the ship. Now. "Nnnooo, sir. Nothing to add, sir." He stammered and turned towards the gathered security personnel, who were all studiously examining the blank view screens in front of them. "You men! Search the ship. Every section, every hold. Report back to me any findings, whether clear or not. Go!"

The guards scattered like the Hounds of Hell where after them. Dunan started to follow them.

"Dunan."

Dunan froze. He'd hoped he could get away without gaining Vaako's attention. "Yes, sir?"

Vaako looked at the young man for a moment, debating how to handle the situation and decided on a direct approach.

"I tolerated your disobedience this time because you are new. You still need to learn the ways of The Bane, so I am going to enlighten you on a few things:

First, I have never known Lord Riddick to be wrong. Just as the old Lord Marshall knew of things, so does Riddick. His instincts are always right. And if he tells you to do something, do it. No questions asked.

The second is quite simple: No Disobedience. It will not be tolerated. When we found you, we brought you on board at your request because we saw potential in you. But if you question an order again, you will be dealt with, in public, by Lord Riddick. And if you don't like having me perform disciplinary action, you certainly won't like his methods. Are we clear?"

Dunan stared straight ahead and nodded jerkily.

"Good, we'll consider the matter closed. But mark me and understand me: There will not be a second time."

Dunan barely controlled the small shiver of fear that ran through him. Vaako was intimidating in his own right. Every one of the personnel had seen Lord Riddick fight before. It was because of his battle prowess and survival abilities that all of them on the ship clamored to sign up for. Rumor had it though that Vaako was the only one who had ever challenged Riddick and survived. And only because Lord Riddick had admired his courage and abilities. So, no, Dunan did not want to face disciplinary action from either one of them.

"Understood, sir."

Vaako stared at him for another moment and was satisfied that the point had been made and taken. "Resume your duties, Dunan. Relay any and all information to me."

"Yes, sir." And Dunan took off.

"Well done, Vaako. You almost had that kid pissing in his pants!"

Vaako turned and watched Riddick remove himself from the shadows and stroll towards him. Even as battle hardened as he was, it was still somewhat unnerving how Riddick could be in a room and not have anyone know it.

"I thought you would approve, Lord Riddick."

"You should have kicked his ass, you know. You're not gettin' soft on me, are you?" Riddick grinned to show he was joking.

"No, just trying to be less violent. I'm trying to be… what is it... ah yes, a 'People Person'."

Riddick blinked and let out a shout of laughter. "A joke, Vaako? Maybe there's hope for you, yet."

Vaako allowed a small smile. "Probably not. But we'll see."

Riddick nodded and rubbed the back of his neck. "I know there's something here. I can feel it. But I don't know who or what it is. I get the feeling it's waiting, but I don't know what for. And it's starting to annoy the fuck out of me!"

Vaako glanced at Johnson's sensor readings from earlier and frowned. "Riddick, I've never seen anything like this. But the scans on the ship show nothing."

Riddick remembered the voice he heard and shook his head. "No, it's here. But it's playing a game. I've never been any good at games. I'm too impatient. I'm going to go and do my own look over. Comm me if the guards find anything."

Vaako nodded and watched Riddick leave the bridge.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

'OK, I've been hearing Kyra for months now. Maybe I am going crazy.' Riddick thought to himself as made his way through the bowels of the ship. But then he remembered Aereon's reaction earlier and dismissed the thought. Even if it wasn't here now, there had been something here at the time.

He was just stepping over the ledge of the of the hatchway door to go into the cargo hold on the lowest level of the ship when the attack struck. Piercing, blinding pain ripped through his mind as he fell to his knees, gripping the sides of his head. In total agony, gritting his teeth, he felt himself fall onto the floor completely. The pain was absolute and it was as if his mind were trying to implode on itself.

He tasted blood and knew that his nose was bleeding. Then, just when he didn't think could take anymore, pictures began flashing before him. Through the haze of pain and agony, he realized that they were his memories; they were flashing past much like how one would fast forward through a movie. Occasionally a picture/memory would stop, slow down, the fast forward again. From birth to present, Riddick was forced to endure the mental violation, until it reached his memories of Kyra's death. As the force focused on those memories, Riddick felt his rage grow. No one kept Richard Riddick helpless!

Gritting his teeth, feeling himself breaking out into a sweat, he gathered every ounce of strength that he had and went on pure instinct and mentally 'punched' back. Whatever had a hold on him, he didn't know, but he was surprised to 'feel' the other's shock at the unexpected attack back. The hold on him remained intact, but lessened in strength. While no longer attacking, it was still holding him in place.

~Furyan~

Riddick flinched as the voice ghosted through his mind. He could feel that whatever it was expected a response.

~Furyan~

Riddick refused to acknowledge the voice.

~Guardian, you will not resist. ~

That just pissed him off. He'd resist and he'd do it well.

~Furyan, last of your kind, it is time to do your duty. ~

"It's not time for me to do shit except kick your uninvited ass off of my ship!" Riddick growled out.

The hold on him released and he stood up. He wiped the blood off of his lip from where his nose had been bleeding and looked around at the darkness in the cargo hold. He ripped off his goggles, but even so, all he could see were the supply crates from when they went on deep space runs. There was no sign of his attacker. He stepped further into the room, stalking his prey. No one had gone past, so he knew they were still in the cargo hold.

"Vaako." He commed.

"Yes, sir?"

"Pull up the vid feeds for Cargo Area 6-SB. Watch them closely, tell me what you see."

"Yes, Captain." Riddick could hear the puzzlement in Vaako's voice.

"They're up and active. But there is no sign of movement except for you… What the…? Sir! Behind you!" Vaako shouted.

About the same time that Vaako started shouting, Riddick felt the skin on the back of his neck begin to crawl. He spun around quickly, dropping to a crouch, shiv at the ready. Even ready for the attack, Riddick couldn't help being caught be surprise by what stood before him.

"What the fuck?!"

Then he took in the full scope of the situation.

"What the fuck?!"

Things had just gone from bad to worse.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"You know, you have your bad days, and you have your shitty days. This…" Riddick looked over at Vaako, "*this* classifies as a shitty day."

Vaako couldn't contain the chuckle.

Riddick continued on, "It's fucking insulting! There were only three of them! What the fuck?!" He began pacing the cell, er, room, that they were currently guests in. "And not only that, but what the fuck were those things?!'

Vaako settled back on the bunk on his side of the cell and considered the question. He looked over at Riddick, noting the dried blood on him. For something to best Riddick, it had to be formidable.

He, himself didn't remember much. He'd been watching the vid screens of the cargo hold and had not seen anything other than Riddick. Then, out of nowhere three… things... had materialized before the cameras in the middle of the room. Just as he was shouting a warning to Riddick, one of the beings had waved a hand (?) towards the cameras and suddenly Vaako felt like someone had just punched him in the face with a steel door. The next thing he knew, he was coming to on the floor of the cell and hearing Riddick cussing up a storm and threatening, in Vaako's mind, impossible types of bodily harm for having the nerve to make him a prisoner on his own, for once, ship.

"Riddick, Aereon mentioned the name Grandfather. Could the creatures possibly be Ancients?"

Riddick smirked at him. "There's not an area around here fore five sectors that contains findings or relics of the Ancients. Why would we find them here?" he asked.

"Remember, the legends say that the Grandfather went into unexplored space to create the Ancients' prison." Vaako pointed out.

"It's possible, but improbable. Why would he show up now, but not when the Necros were the scourge of the universe?"

"There could be something worse out there than my previous race." Vaako supplied.

"Now that's a proposition to keep you awake at night."

Vaako allowed a small smile.

Just as he was getting ready to reply, Riddick suddenly stopped pacing and tilted his head, as if he were listening to something. He suddenly turned to Vaako, "They're coming. We don't try anything yet. Not until we have a better idea of what we're dealing with. 'Know your enemies like you know your friend', that's my motto. We play the game, see what they want. Then we move, got it?"

Vaako nodded.

Riddick walked over and sat down on the opposite bunk, leaned back against the wall and rested an arm on a bent knee, waiting. He could be patient. He hadn't survived this long by being completely reckless. He would observe, see what was what, then the opportunity arose, as it always did, he'd strike.

A short while later they heard the signal to let them know that the cell door locks were deactivated. They looked at each other when no one came through the door. Debating with himself for a few moments, Riddick got up and walked over to the door. He listened for a moment, but he couldn't hear anything. His instincts told him that there wasn't anyone on the other side, so he touched the access panel and the door slid open with a soft hiss. As expected, there was no one there. Riddick glanced at Vaako and jerked his head, telling him to follow.

Vaako got up quietly and headed after Riddick, covering the rear as Riddick made the way back up towards the bridge.

The trip back to the bridge was eerily quiet. There was none of the usual bustle of the ship's personnel and of people who called The Bane home. It almost felt like they were on a ghost ship as they traversed the halls. The lights had been lowered, so that everything was dim and cast long shadows. Even the air felt heavier, more oppressive, making it seem like all sound was muffled.

They reached the Commons area of the ship and stopped short when they saw what greeted them there. With the exception of themselves, it appeared that every member of the 150-man crew was laying in orderly rows on the floor. Riddick stepped in and Vaako followed, unable to really comprehend what it was that they were seeing. Riddick walked over to one of bodies and squatted down next to him while Vaako kept watch.

Riddick did a quick check and couldn't help being surprised. He looked up over at Vaako and said, "They're not dead. But their pulse is slow. It's like they're in some kind of stasis or something. But I don't see any signs of how it was done. 148 people. We weren't in there for very long. Interesting."

"147."

"What?"

"There are 147 people. The Elemental is not here."

Riddick stood up and searched around through the rows. Sure enough, she wasn't there.

"Let's go to the security chambers. We'll get in the weapons locker. I'm not going to the bridge without some firepower." Riddick stated. His pride was still smarting from the earlier attack. He headed out of the Commons towards the security area where the weapons were kept, Vaako following and keeping an eye out.

'I should have known something was up when we accessed the weapons so easily.' Riddick thought to himself. He pondered his situation as he struggled for air while the creature held him up against the wall, his feet dangling, grasping him by his throat with one hand. 'It's probably too late to say I'm sorry and invite them for a beer…'

~Guardian, do not resist. ~

'Like I could anyways.'

*~*~*(Flashback)*~*~*

It had seemed like a good plan. Even Vaako agreed; override the command code to the weapons locker, gather together some firepower and then hack into the computer system to see what resources were being used where to determine where the hijackers were located. At which point, they'd determine the best way to gain access to either Engineering or the bridge to regain control of the ship.

But when they accessed the computer system, no resources were found to be utilized more than any other. Upon seeing this, Riddick decided to head down to Engineering; the heart of a ship was its engines.

Stealthing their way down to Engineering, they cautiously made their way towards the doors where the drives were located. Riddick in lead with Vaako covering the rear, they overrode the lock command and manually opened the door.

The lights in Engineering were all but off and Riddick took off his goggles so that he could see into the room better. They quietly made their way towards where the main controls for the drives were located.

Riddick had just started entering the commands to manually shut down the drives when something caused him to quickly spin around and bring his gun to bear. Vaako was nowhere in sight. He felt the skin on the back of his neck begin to crawl and knew that someone was watching him.

~…Riddick…~

'Shit! Just what I need! Keep your mind focused. She's dead, you're alive.'

~She is not dead, Guardian. ~

"What the…?"

~She could not die. ~

Riddick spun around, searching for some clue as to who was fucking with him. "Show yourself!" he ordered.

He froze when the air in the middle of the room began to shimmer like waves of heat. There was no way he was going to deny his surprise when the creature appeared in the middle of the new distortion.

It was tall, towering a good three feet over his own six plus foot frame. It reminded Riddick of a picture of one of the ancient creatures from Terra called a Raptor. But this creature had no tail and it did have black, leathery looking wings. It appeared to be wearing some sort of mechanized body armor that was pitch black, and eerily enough, did not make one sound as it appeared.

Riddick was impressed.

"Fuck…Me…"

Suddenly two other distortions appeared and two more of the creatures began materializing in front of him. While these newcomers were not as tall as the first one, they still had a good foot or so over Riddick, and he noted that they also were wearing armor. However, they had one thing that the first did not. They had really, really big guns, fusion powered by the looks of it, mounted to their armor. And they were aimed directly at him.

"Fuck me sideways!" Riddick growled as he dove to the side, out of the direct line of fire and brought his own weapon up, aiming it at the tallest of the creatures.

The other two creatures moved as one and stepped towards him, but the tallest held up his hand and they stopped. It walked towards him. Riddick fired a shot, hitting the creature dead center in the chest and stared in surprise. The creature looked down at the burn mark on its armor then shot out a hand, grabbing Riddick by the throat faster than he could react, and lifting him in the air.

*~*~*(End Flashback)*~*~*

As Riddick thought about the plan, struggling to breathe, he was willing to allow that maybe shooting the thing wasn't one of his better moves.

~You will cease~

'Sure thing. As soon as I can breathe again.'

The creature looked at him and the other creatures fanned out around him. Riddick felt like a caged animal and couldn't handle it. Going on instinct, he kicked out with his foot, trying to catch the creature by surprise.

It didn't work.

The creature shook Riddick by the neck like one would do with an errant puppy.

~You will know your place, Guardian! ~

'Great, here we go with the whole 'back of the bus' bit again.'

The creature dropped Riddick and turned away. The other two closed ranks around Riddick, keeping their weapons on him.

"So what's the deal here? You hitching a ride? 'Cus I don't take stowaways."

~Your irreverence is disturbing. ~

"Yeah, well, spend time in Butcher's Bay and Crematoria and not much fazes you anymore."

The creatures around him took a step closer.

"You wanna call off your dogs here? They look like they might start humping my leg."

~Enough, human! It is by my will that you are still alive. It was by my will that your race was ever even created! ~

"Ok. So… I'm guessing, Ancients?"

The creature ignored him.

"Yeah, well… as fascinating as all of this is, I have a merc's ass to kick. So if we're finished here, we'll all be on our way."

~If you want the Guide returned to you, alive, you will do as I command. ~

A picture of Kyra, lying in his arms dying, suddenly flashed before his eyes. "She's dead! Don't offer what you can't pay!"

~She is not dead, Guardian. But she will die if you don't cooperate. ~

"I watched her die."

~The Guide never dies, unless she wills it. ~

"So where is she?"

~Answer her call. Do your duty and you will find her. ~

"Yeah, so I bow down, kiss your ass and I find Kyra?"

~Yes.~

"I bow to no one. Find yourself another asshole to mindfuck." Riddick turned to walk away…

…only to find himself slammed, face first, into the wall. Without a hand being laid on him.

~I am out of patience, human. Your insolence will be tolerated no longer. You will do your duty or you and your kind will face the consequences. ~

Riddick let out a low growl.

"When you put it that way… fuck you!"

He was slammed back into the wall.

~You are a disgrace to your kind. Look how the warriors have fallen! We are left with you. ~

"Hey, I didn't know I was going to have company. I would have cleaned up better."

He was pulled back and slammed into the wall again.

"I don't think that was really called for", he groaned.

~You will do your duty. You will guard the gates. ~

Suddenly Riddick was released and fell to the floors as the creatures walked past.

~Retrieve the Guide. ~

"Where is she?" he asked. He was suddenly overwhelmed with visions of a planet that no sane, or insane for that matter, Furyan would go near.

"Terra? She's on Terra?!"

The creatures did not speak. They just disappeared. Riddick heard a low groan and turned and saw one of Vaako's boots twitch from where he had been put during the altercation behind the engines.

"Vaako! Get the shuttle ready. We're making a snatch and get."

Vaako staggered up, hair mussed and looking the worse for wear, and turned to go and do as ordered.

'So… off to Terra we go. Towards all the bright lights and everything I hate. You better be there, Kyra. That's all I got to say.' He thought to himself as he strode towards his stateroom to gather up his gear.


	8. Chapter Seven

**Title: **Darkness Is A Friend Of Mine | Chapter SEVEN

**Author:Musesinspire**

**Rating:** R (language, violence, relationships later in story)

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing other than my computer and my car. Buffy belongs to Whedon and Riddick belongs to Vin, One Race and whoever else helped produce it.

*****

"OK, you might be used to the heat here, Zilla, but I'm not. I might be a California girl, but I grew up in the land of air conditioning and swimming pools and Slush Puppies."

The lizard just looked at me from its perch on the pack. I had decided that traveling in the day may not be the best idea, so here we were, in the shade of a small mountain of boulders, and I was becoming convinced that we were never going to get out of 'Nevada'. We were like Moses' Jews, doomed to wander the desert for forty years… only we weren't Jewish… and we were lost, not homeless.

OK, maybe it wasn't the best comparison. I'm hot! Sue me!

"Jesus! Is the sun ever going to go down! I'm sorry, but this is not California hot here. This is more like Africa hot or something! It's only been two days, but hey! – I'm woman enough to admit it: I'm done, stick a fork in me! I guess I should be thankful that I have clothes and a 'survival' backpack, but you know what? I'm just not feeling that grateful right now. And while I'm on my little bitchfest, whose bright idea was it to stick me in the middle of the freakin' desert in black clothes! Huh?! Huh?! I should be in Heaven, dammit! I should not be here in the middle of… wherever the hell I am, sweating my ass off! Buffy the Vampire Slayer does not do sweat!"

Clap, clap, clap…

'Now, I've lost my mind, I'm hallucinating or something. Because I thought I just heard someone clapping…'

"You know, at first we thought you might be Krell. But then we examined the boot tracks, and well, Krell doesn't outfit that well. Then we thought maybe you were Army... or even Snake Eater, but then we saw the black uniform… And no self-respecting military person would be in the desert in black cammies. Now I'm just going to have to say… I think you're off your rocker. Ladies, what do you think?"

"Yeah, I can go with that one."

"Understatement is more like it…"

I shielded my eyes from the sun and scanned the rocks in front of me and finally located the source of the voices. 'At least I'm not totally nuts.' There, in the shade of the boulders, were three people. One was a guy, pretty damn cute, and the other two were women. I couldn't really make too much out about them; they were further in the shadows of the boulders than the guy was. But I could make out enough to see that all three of them were wearing some kind of desert camouflage-type uniforms. They had light-weight looking scarves around their necks and a floppy type of hat that was hanging from cords around their necks as well. I could see polarized sunglasses sticking out of pockets and I almost started drooling with envy. Their rucksacks were at their feet and I'm betting that they were a lot better equipped than I was at the moment. About the time I noticed the rucksacks was also about the time I noticed that while the man had his slung up on his shoulder, the women had their rifles deceptively, casually held, ready to swing up and fire at a moment's notice.

…gulp…

"So, you're either not from the area, or you're just crazy. Which will it be?" the guy asked.

"Um, I'll have both, with a side of where the hell am I? – and an order of who are you?"

The smile faded from the guy's face and he exchanged a look with the women. My instincts kicked in and I knew something was up.

The guy looked back at me and said, "You think she's one of them?"

"No." the shorter woman answered. "They would have equipped her better."

They all looked at me then and I fought the urge to squirm.

"Well, she's not one of ours. You can tell that much by looking at her."

Sweat trickled down the back of my neck and followed the line down my spine. 'Zilla shifted on the pack.

"Ladies, you think we should take her with us?"

The shorter woman looked me over again. "We've really don't have a choice. It'll be dark soon. I don't know how she's lasted this long. We can't leave her out here."

"Uh, hello? You do realize that I'm like standing right here, don't you?" I was seriously tired of people ignoring me. I was hot, I was sweaty, I was thirsty, and I had something crawling on my leg…

…

It suddenly dawned on me that I had Something. On. My. Leg! I looked down, saw 'Zilla still on the pack and then looked down at my leg. There, on my right leg, in stark relief (I now know what that means) against the black material, was the biggest, reddest, ugliest scorpion I had ever seen! The tail stinger curled up over its back and moved threateningly. I eyeballed it for a moment and weighed my options: to more, or not to move, that is the question.

The guy spoke up, "I wouldn't keep that on you. They're deadly, just so you know."

I glared at the guy. "No shit! I thought I'd keep him as my pet. He'd make a nice addition to my 'all things creepy' collection."

The shorter woman smirked and glanced over at the man. "I think you found a match in the smartass department, Chris."

"I was thinking she had to be related to Sher somehow."

All I could do was gape at them in shock! Here I was, in the desert with a scorpion the size of a Great Dane on my leg, and all they could do was talk about smartasses! Where the hell had the Powers sent me?!

"Um, not to be rude or anything… wait a second – scratch that! – I don't care if I'm rude or not! Could we please focus on the fact that I have a bug the size of the Hubble telescope on my leg here?!"

I caught the look the three of them exchanged, but I was immediately distracted by the movement on my leg. I looked down and saw that the scorpion had curled its tail up even more. I can't really explain what happened next.

I'd like to say that I did it because I was tired. I'd like to say that it happened because I wasn't thinking straight from being sent back into the desert, etc… But the reality is, I hate snakes, scorpions, and cockroaches and I just totally panicked. I saw that thing poise to strike and I screamed. Not a 'Slayer/Warrior' scream either, but a 'I'm a chick scared of bugs, save me please' scream. I'd remember to be humiliated later.

I snatched my cap off and started beating the holy hell out my leg, dancing in circles the whole time! I saw the scorpion land on the ground and I started stomping the ground, grinding anything I came in contact with under the heel of my steel-toed boots.

The next thing I knew, I was flat of my face on the ground, staring the scorpion dead in the eye. Apparently I had quite effectively killed my compass, if the shattered corpse next to the scorpion was any indication, tripped over my rucksack, and in the process, had completely missed the damn bug.

Which was now within striking distance of my nose and was obviously considering making use of that closeness.

Just as I was beginning to tense to move, out of nowhere, a survival knife suddenly skewered the scorpion, pinning it to the sun dried clay.

"Nice shot, Cat."

I glanced up, tearing my eyes from the still swaying knife and saw the shorter woman step out over the ledge and head down the slope towards me. When she got to me, she leaned down and grabbed her knife and wiped it clean. Then she came over to me and squatted down and started looking me over in that kind of 'I'm a medical person, I know what I'm doing' manner. Now that she wasn't backlit, I could get a look at her and was rather surprised.

One, she was really kind of pretty, in a 'military for life' kind of way. She had brown hair and blue eyes, but as I looked closer at her, I recognized the signs of someone who had seen and done too much to ever lead a 'normal' life.

"She's OK!" the woman yelled up to other two. "A little dehydrated, a little too much sun, a lot stupid, but she'll be all right."

"Hey!" I spoke up.

"Yeah?"

"…I'm not… never mind." I was too tired to argue the 'stupid' comment. Besides, she could be right.

The woman stood up and offered me her hand to help stand. I took it and noted the strength in her grip as well as the roughness in her hand. She was used to hard work.

"I'm Cat. That's Chris and Sheridan." She gestured to the man and other woman while she did the introductions. They waved back from the ledge. "And you are?"

"I'm Buffy. And yeah, I know. So no comments, ok?

"No comments to make… Uh, no offense, but did you even know how to use that compass? I mean, before you killed it."

I wanted to lie to her. I really, truly did. I wanted to look her dead in the eye and tell her I was more than capable of taking care of myself. I wanted to gather up the shredded remains of my big, bad Slayer pride, get my rucksack and 'Zilla and slink off where I could lick my wounds in private.

But I also wanted to get the hell out this damn desert and I was realistic enough to know I wasn't going to be able to do it alone. Logic sucks sometimes.

"No." I sighed. "I don't even know what desert I'm in. It's a long story, I don't have a lot of time… but I have to get out of here. Can you tell me how to get to the nearest town?"

"We'll help you. But we're not going to the nearest town. It's not safe."

"Why not?"

"Girl, you've got a lot to learn. Let's start right now: First, when someone tells you to stay away from a place, there's a good reason for it. Second, I don't know where you're from, but you're not in Kansas anymore. There's things out here that can kill you in seconds. That is, if the slavers or the Scions don't get you first. You've gotta keep sharp and pay attention here."

"I think I can handle that part."

She raised an eyebrow and then looked me up and down and the dropped her gaze to the gloriously destroyed compass and trampled rucksack and then looked me in the eye again. I had to give her credit; she kept a straight face… I don't think I could have.

"Yeah, ok… if you say so."

I couldn't help it.

"You know, where I'm from, I'm who they call when there's a crisis, thank you very much!"

"Sure." She then turned around and headed back towards the other two people at the top of the slope. "Coming?"

I sighed. "Yeah." I know I was sulking, but I felt like I was entitled. I grabbed my stuff, made sure 'Zilla was in my shirt pocket and stomped after her muttering to myself the whole time about how at one time, I was calm and collected like her, too. I don't think she believed me though, if the snort was anything to go by.

We got to the top of the hill and that's when I got a good look at the other two of the group. The guy, Chris, was a hottie. He had blonde hair, cut short in an almost military style, with brown eyes. He had a few days stubble on his face, but it made him look rugged and tough, not scruffy. He was tall and muscular and you could tell that he knew how to handle himself in a tense situation. There was an air about him that told this was someone who would get the job done.

He extended his hand out to me when I neared the top to help me up over the ledge. When I took his hand, I noticed that he had burn scars all over it. It didn't seem to hamper him in any way, though.

I stepped up over the ledge and looked at the taller woman. She stood close to six feet tall, with dark auburn hair and green eyes. She was been one of those women that people called 'beautifully statuesque' had it not been for the scar that ran down the left side of her face from where the jaw hinges, curving along her jaw line and ended short of her chin.

Like the other two, she was muscular and the air about her of always being on guard and watching. Her finger was never too far from the trigger of her rifle. Even for me, she was a little unnerving.

She looked me over and was about to say something when Chris said, "we need to get back to the vehicles. We're not going to find it today and I don't want the Jeep left unguarded with night coming."

The other two nodded their agreement and they all shouldered their gear and we headed off.

…what had I gotten myself in to?

*****

Now, let's ask the $100 million dollar question: Just how much freakin' sand can there be in Nevada? I'll be honest, I think they took all the sand in the Sahara, the Gobi and all the beaches of Florida and dumped it right here in Nevada. When I get out of here, I'm moving to Montana. I'd rather be cold than see another grain of sand again.

Remember how I said I want to wake in Bermuda? Well, scratch that. I changed my mind. I wanna wake up in Alaska. Not that I think anyone is going to listen to me, but I thought I'd put the request in now, before I die. I know it's going to happen, here in Nevada, in this desert. I am never going to get out of this desert.

I tell ya, I think it's all a plot.

Over the course of the very long and hot hike back to wherever it was that we were going, I observed two things. One was: I really and truly am not cut out for the whole desert survival thing. No way, no how, not me. The second thing that I observed was the group I now found myself with. They reminded me of a movie I was when I was younger called 'Navy SEALs'. Watching them, you could tell that they had been through a lot together and worked together as a completely cohesive team. They rarely spoke, but seemed to know exactly what was needed when. I had seen that with the Initiative; they had worked so long together, they could read each other.

Chris had taken the lead, or point, with Sheridan next, then me, with Cat at the rear. At all times they walked with their rifles at the ready, constantly scanning the area surrounding us.

"Um, is there something you guys would like to share with me?"

Sheridan shot me a look that should have curled my hair, but I was too tired to give a damn.

"I mean, if there's something out here besides us and the horse-sized scorpions, I'd really like to know. 'Cuz I don't really don't take well to surprises… Just so you know."

"We'll talk about it when we get to the camp." Chris answered.

I sighed. "You guys do realize that it's like, hot as hell out here, don't you?"

Sheridan unsnapped her canteen and handed it back to me without changing her stride. I took it from her and took a long drink, relishing how the warm water at least wet my throat, and heard from behind me, "Be careful. Don't drink too much too fast. You'll get cramps."

Whatever.

Taking another swig of water from the canteen and wiping the sweat out of my eyes, I began to contemplate my predicament. For whatever reason, They had put me in this godforsaken wasteland. Why? What was so special about here?

I glanced around and all I saw was dry, baked clay and rocks. Brown, brown and more brown. Excuse me; let's break up the monotony some, shall we? Let's add some… oh, I don't know, brown!

Sheesh.

The shadows were getting longer and I was starting to get a little nervous. I mean, what did I know about these people? Nothing! With a capital N.O.T! Sure, they could have killed me and left my body somewhere, but they didn't.

However, they could just be lulling me into a false sense of security, getting me to trust them, and then leading me to some kind of cult. Oh my God! Why didn't I listen to Mom when she said never talk to strangers!

Walking along with visions of Waco and Jonestown going through my mind, I at first didn't notice the looks I was getting from the trio. Finally Sheridan got my attention by grabbing my shoulder.

"Hey! You can relax, you know?"

I blinked at her. "Huh?"

"We're not taking you to our leader. Jesus, kid! Where are you from, anyways!"

"I'm from California. And how do you know what I'm thinking!" Panic was starting to set in. The Slayer Spidey Sense wasn't kicking in, but maybe dying and coming back to this kind of heat had short-circuited it. Maybe they were demons!

"Uh, kid… You need to learn the difference between Inside Voice and Outside Voice. You've been muttering about cults and kidnappings for the last ten minutes." Sheridan then turned and continued on, following Chris.

"Oh. Sorry. …long day…" I kept walking, making sure that I kept my mouth shut. Finally, I just couldn't take it anymore and burst out, "Good God! How much further is it!"

Cat laughed and said, "It's just on the other side of that hill."

I looked up at the hill and almost ran to start climbing up it.

"Hey! Slow down there, killer! You could just use the path, you know?"

I turned towards Chris and saw where he was pointing to a path, plain as day, right there in front of where I had been standing. I followed them along the path and when we got to the other side of the hill, all I could do was stop and stare. There before me, in their desert camouflaged painted glory, stood a large tank with a .50 caliber mounted submachine gun and a utility jeep that had what looked like a .20 caliber gun mounted on it and what also looked like hides of some kind covering the open top.

"Welcome to Home Sweet Home." Chris said. "Let's eat!"

*****

The sun had almost set when the food was finally ready. Although I would hardly call the processed spaghetti in the vac sealed packaging food. I had to wonder at first why the three of them were fighting over the little packages of Tabasco sauce that came in the MREs with the food, but one taste of the 'spaghetti' and I called dibs on my package of Tabasco. Nasty didn't come close to describing the food. The sauce covered the worst of it.

While we were eating, I could feel their eyes on me and I knew that 20 Questions was about to start. I mentally started preparing my answers, deciding that innocent, simple, almost truths were the way to go.

"So, you're from California, huh?" Sheridan asked.

"Yep. California girl through and through."

"What part are you from?" Chris asked.

"Well, I was born and lived in L.A. for about 15 years. Then I moved to a town called Sunnydale. I've lived there for about 5 years now." Out of the corner of my eye I saw them exchange a look. Cat stood up and took off her BDU shirt. She had a tank top on under it and I could now see just how fit she was. And it also looked like she had bullet hole scars. One was near her left collarbone and neck and another was on her right shoulder. They were large, ragged and looked old; the scar being white now.

"You have family there still?" Cat asked me, while folding her short.

"Not anymore. A few friends. My sister left not too long ago. And Willow, my best friend, left for UCLA last semester."

Chris looked at me for a moment then said, "L.A…. big town. Has some bad areas, though. Been there recently?"

"I was there a few weeks ago," I had no idea how long I had been gone, but it seemed like a good answer, "saw some friends of mine there. Where are you guys from?"

"Michigan."

"All of you?"

"Yeah."

I sensed movement behind me and jumped up, spun around and kicked out, catching Cat right in the shoulder as she tried to jump out of the way. She stood up, survival knife in her hand. She looked casual, but I could sense the tension in her as we watched each other. She was waiting for me to make a move.

Sheridan and Chris stood up and spread out, surrounding me. "Good reflexes", Chris commented.

"Thanks… So now what?"

"Now? Well, for starters, you're going to tell us the truth. And depending on your answers, we'll decide what we're going to do with you. So again, with the truth this time, where are you from?"

I was tired, hot, worn out mentally and emotionally and so not in the mood for this. "I told you already. I'm from Sunnydale, California."

Chris looked at me for a second then said, "Sweetheart, I don't know who you're trying to fool, but it ain't going to be us. All of southern California is a nuclear wasteland. So try again. Last chance: Where. Are. You. From?"

****

Say what? That brought me up short. Did that guy just say what I think he just said?

"Uh, could you repeat that? I think I misunderstood you."

Chris just looked at me and then said, "Misunderstand? Or just don't believe?"

"Both."

He looked at Sheridan and Cat and then said, "Fine. Stand down and I'll show you. Stand down, get in the Jeep with me, we'll go about twenty miles northwest and you'll see."

I weighed my options and saw that I really didn't have any. Whether I liked it or not, I needed these people.

"OK, but it's just you and me. Those two", I pointed towards Sheridan and Cat, "stay here. Got it?"

"Fine, but your gear stays here."

I nodded in agreement and walked over to the Jeep. I got in on the passenger side and noticed that the interior was well-worn but cared for. Everything about these people was like that, I had noticed; well-used, but well taken care of.

Chris climbed in and we took off. The trip was made in silence. Mainly because I didn't really have anything to say (for once) and Chris had to concentrate on the 'road'. Roads… yeah! I had seen better taken care of sheep trails on the Discovery Channel.

After about an hour and a half, I noticed that we were approaching a series of hills and mountains. The road led us into them and that's when I saw that there was a faint blue glow in the night sky ahead of us. Curious now, I waited impatiently while Chris navigated the Jeep up the path. Soon he pulled over and killed the engine and turned to me.

"Let me guess." I said. "This is the part where you tell me that we're out of gas and that we'll have to snuggle together naked to share body warmth so that we can survive?"

Chris just looked at me with an eyebrow raised.

"I guess not. OK, so now where?"

"Well, now we walk. We're going to the top there." He proceeded to climb out of the Jeep and start walking up the hill.

I sighed and hauled my butt out of the Jeep. I was never really what you'd call an 'outdoorsy' kind of girl and this was starting to get old. It wasn't easy going up the hill either. This was beginning to suck. Big time.

Chris was already at the top of the hill when I got there, panting and out of breath, standing there with one foot propped on a rock, leaning with an arm resting on one of his legs. The jerk wasn't even breathing hard. I stood next to him, bent over; hands braced on my knees and tried to catch my breath. Once I felt like I was going to live and not pass out, I looked up at him. The heat was doing me in and I was suspecting that I hadn't completely recovered from coming back, either.

"OK, we're at the top. Show me your proof."

He just gestured out to the valley in front of us. I turned and looked and would wish for the rest of my life that I hadn't. Although on some level I know what it was I was looking at, the human mind sometimes needs confirmation.

"What is it?"

Chris shrugged and said, "Well now, that would be Las Vegas. Land of Elvis impersonators and the Quickie-Wedding."

But what I saw was rubble and ruins. Entire buildings had been brought down to their foundations. Gone was Caesar's Palace and The Excalibur. In their place was debris that made the pictures of Hiroshima that I had seen as a child in school look like a small tornado had hit the Japanese town. Here and there I could see soft blue lights moving about. I had to wonder how people survived in that kind of destruction and asked Chris as much. His face got tight.

"Those aren't people, Buffy. They're the Blue Undead."

"Right… and those are…?"

"They're people who were here when the radiation hit. It killed them… technically. Their bodies were left animated. They're minimally sentient. Basically, they're zombies. But they're extremely deadly. All they do now is exactly what they were doing when they died. We ran across one in Chicago that was forever pushing her baby carriage around."

I started to feel a little ill. "How are they deadly?"

"They're extremely radioactive. Even in a rad suit, more than a couple of minutes of exposure and you're dead. The problem with Blue Meenies is that they're curious. If you catch their attention, they'll follow you. And spread their radiation in the process. At night you can spot them, they glow. But in the day, you have a real problem. Unless you have a Geiger counter, you won't know you're near them until it's too late. They look 'normal'. Without a suit, a few seconds around them causes irreparable damage to the body. We're talking cellular level type damage. One person we know had her entire blood type changed from just about three seconds worth of exposure. God help her if she ever needs a transfusion. And if you're exposed for more than a few seconds, it's lethal. You'd better hope at that point that you were exposed enough to pretty much die immediately, otherwise, you have a slow and painful death ahead of you."

I was definitely feeling very ill by now. I just couldn't seem to get my head around it.

"What happened? When?"

Chris looked at me strangely for a minute then turned back to the valley. "MAD happened, Buffy."

"MAD?"

"Mutually Assured Destruction. When the first strike hit, since everyone had weapons of mass destruction, they all decided to jump on the bandwagon. Sort of like 'if I can't have it, no one can'. The ones that got hit with the nukes were the lucky ones. There were plenty that got hit with chemical and biologics. Those are the ones I pity."

"Why?"

"Do you have any idea what it would be like to die from the Super Flu? Or Ebola? Trust me; being fried from a nuclear blast or crushed from the shock wave of the explosion is much preferable."

A thought occurred to me and I looked back down at the valley. The area looked old, in ruins. Not new, as I was well acquainted with.

"Hey, when did this happen?"

Again, he looked at me oddly. "December 25, 2005."

I sat down heavily on one of the boulders as a sinking feeling came over me.

"Where all in California was hit?"

"Nukes were used on San Diego, L.A., San Francisco… chemicals on Monterey Bay, Sacramento…"

The Slayer in me stirred as I noted the sites he mentioned. "All tactical sites. They took out military sites. Let me guess, they also heavily hit Virginia, Illinois, Maine, Texas, Georgia and North Carolina didn't they?"

"Yeah, how'd you know?"

"I used to date a… Special Forces… guy. He told me where he and his buddies had trained." I looked around me, "They must have tried to hit Nellis and Groom Lake here."

"So, I showed mine, now you show yours. Who are you? Where are you from? Who are you with? We'll try to help you, Buffy. It's what we do. It's our job. But we can't do anything without information. You don't know anything about the area, the status of things… but you're not one of us. Who are you?"

I looked at him for a long time, and then made my decision. "I'll answer all of your questions but I want to wait until we're all together. I don't want to have to keep telling this story, OK?"

He agreed and we started to get ready to head back down to the Jeep.

"Hey, one last question… What year is this?"

Chris glanced towards me and said, "Our best guess is somewhere around 2162. It's approximately May 26, 2162, in case you're interested."

I nodded.

About that time, Chris glanced up and then let out a low expletive and began quickly searching his clothes for something. I started looking around, wondering what had him so worked up and asked him as much.

He pointed to the horizon while grabbing his comm unit that he had finally located. I followed his gesture and saw what he was so worked up about. There, just barely visible, was something flying along the horizon, skirting the opposite side of the valley.

"Um, OK, so what's so exciting about a plane?"

"Buffy, in case you haven't noticed, there's not exactly an abundance of airborne vehicles these days. And our group, at least as far as we know, doesn't have any bases of operations in this area. So, as you can see, this could be a big problem."

"Oh."

I turned while Chris communicated the problem back to Cat who answered his call and watched the small dot of light continue on past my field of vision as it went down behind the valley wall.

Whatever it was, it had landed.


	9. Chapter Eight

**Title: **Darkness Is A Friend Of Mine | Chapter EIGHT

**Author:Musesinspire**

**Rating:** R (language, violence, relationships later in story)

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing other than my computer and my car. Buffy belongs to Whedon and Riddick belongs to Vin, One Race and whoever else helped produce it.

*****

"Jesus! An entire block of C4, Chris?!"

"Hey! - quit your bitchin', Cat! It worked, didn't it? I did my job."

"Um, maybe I should have been a little clearer in the instructions: we wanted him wounded, not obliterated!"

"Oh."

"Yeah, Oh."

-Conversation between Cat & Chris: The Morrow Project Chronicles

*****

The time was the Sixties. Most people think it was a time of innocence and idealism. Others know it was a time of chaos and underground operations. The Sixties were full of war protestors and picketers. But they were also full of people who knew that none of it mattered and that war and human nature were inevitable.

The man appeared out of nowhere. There were rumors that he wasn't even a man at all, but possibly of alien descent or even some sort of vesper or solidified air. No one knew who he was, where he came from or what his intentions were. All anyone knew was that he wanted to meet with the heads of the five largest companies in the United States and that he promised something no one had ever seen before. The men in charge went more to see the person who had the audacity to demand such a meeting and see this most amazing piece of technology that was guaranteed to 'amaze' them so.

The man more than delivered on his promise; he scared the hell out of them.

When the heads of Exxon, IBM, Coca-Cola, General Motors and Boeing returned to their offices, they were pale, shaking and silent. When asked what was wrong they would order out their secretaries, friends, families and co-workers, demanding that it was never to spoken of again, they were fine. They would wake up at night in cold sweats from the nightmares they would have. Beyond a shadow of a doubt, they knew they had been told the truth.

When a man offers a portable nuclear power cell in a time when nuclear power was anything but portable as proof he's from the future, people tend to pay attention and believe him.

The man told the heads of the disastrous future that the world was heading towards. He told them that it was unavoidable. Nuclear and biological weapons were already available for warfare. In approximately forty years, it was going to all come to a head and there was nothing anyone could do. But he did have a solution to help with the aftereffects.

He proposed, with their funding and their resources, to develop a special program. They would recruit from colleges, universities, labs, research facilities and police and military academies the individuals who were at the tops of their fields and best suited for the job. They would then train them, prep them and with their assistance build an extremely elite group of people with a wide variety of experience to be cryogenically frozen. Approximately five years after the war, they would be woken up and go out assigned to specific teams to help rebuild society.

For over thirty years, the program was developed, updated and covertly funded by the companies. Everything was under Top Secret confidentiality. But like all good secrets, leaks happened. The United States government learned of the covert planning and staging and began trying to gain information. However, they could only garner bits and pieces of the puzzle. What they learned alarmed them enough, however, to start building their own program, mainly to watch the civilian one and take action should it prove a national threat. They recruited from the military's Special Forces and began placing them as near to the civilian teams as they could without having all the information needed.

The last civilians were recruited, trained, frozen and placed during the Fall of 2000. The heads of the companies moved their families to places of protection as best they could and then they waited.

*****

On December 25, 2005 the first missile launched and chaos struck the world. In a matter of days, everything that mankind had struggled through the centuries to create was decimated. Cities were reduced to rubble and technology was blasted back to the Dark Ages.

*****

Now everyone knows that things have a habit of trying to converge to the absolute point of total chaos. This is better known as Murphy's Law: anything that can go wrong; will. It seems that Murphy and his law were alive and quite well and active on December 25, 2005. Prime Base, the headquarters for the program and where all the main computers were housed to monitor the frozen teams and wake them up in 2010, were damaged.

The wake signal did not go out.

When it finally did, it was sporadic.

Life continued on, humans began rebuilding as they could and the world kept turning.

Bruce Morrow, the creator of the teams and their program could only watch from his vantage point as society's hopes slept, waiting for their wake signals to finally come and release them from their cold slumber.

Until then, The Morrow Project would only be a myth.


	10. Chapter Nine

**Title: **Darkness Is A Friend Of Mine | Chapter NINE

**Author:Musesinspire**

**Rating:** R (language, violence, relationships later in story)

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing other than my computer and my car. Buffy belongs to Whedon and Riddick belongs to Vin, One Race and whoever else helped produce it.

*****

"It was a plan that would have worked."

Silence.

"I'm serious! It would have been perfect."

Silence.

"OK, so maybe not 'perfect', but it still would have worked."

Crickets in the silence.

"Oh, c'mon! Cut me some slack here!"

I heard the rustle of clothing and then I saw Caitlyn moving into my field of vision.

"I'm thinking that the whole 'not talking' thing… that's a great plan." She says.

"Look, OK, I'm sorry. This," I shake the shackles on my wrists for emphasis, "was so not part of the plan!"

Silence.

I sigh. I can't help it. I'm a bit put out with them. It's not like I planned for us to get caught by these people! I mean, how was I supposed to know that there were slavers in Nevada?! It's not like the slave trade was a booming business that last time I was in Vegas… a hundred and sixty years ago!

I peer through the darkness, once again thankful for the Slayer abilities, and saw where the team had been placed. I shifted on the hard, dirt floor of the room and looked around a little more. Nice, the barn was a nice touch for a business that looked on people as livestock. I shifted again, trying to get comfortable and noticed a young boy, not more than seven or eight, sitting hunched up in the corner near me. He looked so frightened that my heart went out to him and I shifted so that I was facing him more fully. There was something about him that captured my interest. He looked up at me, and then quickly looked back down, trying to hunch himself up more into the corner.

"Hey." I said to him softly.

He looked up at me and then quickly looked away.

"Hey, it's OK. I won't hurt you." I said to him quietly.

"That's what they always say…" the boy mumbled.

There wasn't really anything that I could say to that. I had no idea what kind of life this boy had lived.

"Where are your parents?"

"They left with the other truck yesterday. They help herd the cattle."

Now call me thick. Sometimes, things just don't process well with me; maybe it's all the hits to the head I've taken over the years. But I just couldn't seem to stop myself. I could hear Caitlyn behind me trying to get my attention, but she just wasn't quick enough. The words were out almost before I had fully thought them.

"Your parents are slavers?! And you're here in shackles with us?!?!"

The boy's eyes widened and he quickly looked around, trying to make himself smaller in his corner. I could hear some grumbling coming from around us and could sense the other people shifting and moving around after hearing my outburst. I could make out fragments of sentences, like "it's because of his people we're here" and "let's show him what it's like…" It didn't take a genius to figure out that things were about to get ugly, and fast, if I didn't do something.

I could hear the people moving around, muttering and mumbling, and then silence started descending over the room. I sensed, rather than saw, someone separate from the group and move over to where we were. I looked up, and up, and up until I finally came to the face of the largest man that I had ever seen, dressed in dirty, ragged clothing, filth on his skin that I could see and long, stringy hair. The stench coming from his body was enough to make me want to gag. What had me worried though was the look in his eyes. Outside of Spike in full-on 'Game' mode, I had never seen such a look homicidal blood lust before. It was enough to make my blood run cold. But, I had caused this; I would end it if I needed to.

"I'm sorry." I said to him, as he stood there, breathing heavy. "Did you need something?"

"Buffy." Chris said in a warning tone.

"Well?" I asked, ignoring the warning glances and signals coming from the team.

The man just stood there, his eyes becoming more glazed with his (I hope) psychotic thoughts as he stared at the boy.

"You know…" I said, standing up and facing the man, "it's extremely rude to stare. Why don't you take a picture, it'd last longer."

The man switched his gaze from the boy to me. I could barely suppress the shudder that threatened to wash over me. The man wasn't right. I mean, beyond the whole 'I'm a homicidal maniac who hasn't bathed in years' thing. I couldn't put my finger on it, but now that I was full-on concentrating on him, there was something about him that had my Slayer instincts screaming 'fight or flight'.

I had learned long ago to trust those instincts implicitly.

I lashed out with the heel of my hand, punching him and quickly followed with a double jab to the sternum.

Only to blink in surprise when the man didn't so much as twitch.

As he turned his attention back to me, I couldn't stop the hitch of breath when I saw his eyes begin to glow a dull reddish-orange and he smiled a sadistic, teeth-rotting grin. Oh hell… This was really going to hurt.

And that's when both mine and Faith's Slayers took over.

*****

I don't remember much about the fight. I was always fast and strong… I had to be to fight the vampires. But with Faith's added abilities, I felt like I could take on a convoy of semi's and walk out without breaking a sweat. I felt superhuman, and that's probably all that saved my life. The Inhuman man that I was fighting might have been slow, but he was insanely strong and he was built like a fortified brick wall.

I ducked and dodged his lumbering grabs and swipes only to discover yet another disadvantage that I had to face; the slavers had secured my wrist shackles to the floor with a length of chain. This severely dampened my good spirits, since it became obvious when I almost dislocated my shoulders when I unknowingly reached the end of the chain unexpectedly that my options were becoming increasingly limited and that there was no way I was getting out of this fight without this thing getting in a few good licks on me.

Keeping an eye on the lumbering Tower of Pisa, I debated my next move. Unless I wanted to break something, punching him was out… not that the punches had much effect anyway… But, I was quick to remind myself; _that_ was a humiliation to savor at another date and time; like after I had dealt with this problem.

Dodging him again, I dropped and rolled so that I could come up behind him. He stumbled over the chain that my hands were attached to and I saw an opportunity and grabbed it; jerking my arms up and over, causing him to trip and land on his knees. Spinning quickly, I slammed my foot into the side of his head with a nimble roundhouse kick. While that kick would have likely taken a vampire's head clean off (eww!), it did little more than cause this guy to lose his balance and fall onto his side.

I quickly ran up and pulled my leg back to kick him in the ribs (hey! – it's a down and dirty fight… you do what you gotta!), while he was down when he suddenly swung an arm out and it tangled in the chain, throwing me off-balance and causing me to fall into a heap of chains, dirty arms and legs and possibly other assorted filth that I just really didn't want to think about right now. By the time I had gathered my wits again, the man was up on his knees and he made a clumsy grab for me. I tried to skitter away, but his reach was longer than my chain, since he was kneeling on it. Suddenly, I was lifted in the air and thrown towards the wall, only to come up short due to that damn chain again and ended up being slammed down into the floor when I reached the end of the length of it. I felt my elbow dislocate and I knew that this had to end.

I lay there on the floor, listening to the yells, screams and general chaotic noise, waiting for the moment that I needed. Suddenly, I felt a large, rough hand latch onto my ankle and I was roughly jerked backwards. Using the momentum from the pull, I rolled over and kicked with all of my strength into the man's throat, crushing the area where the larynx would be.

As the man dropped my foot, I stood up and delivered a side kick to his head, sending him off-balance and crashing back down to his knees. Seizing the opportunity, I swung my hands up, aided with the shackles, into a nasty, powerful hit under his chin that caused him to start rocking backwards. I quickly looped the length of chain between the wrist shackles around his neck and jerked towards me. As he started falling forwards, I dodged around him so that I was facing his back, causing the chain to tighten around his neck. Forcing my knee into his back, I pulled on the chain with all of my strength, ignoring the pain screaming through my arm from the dislocation, shoving my knee into his back and pulling until he was bowed backwards.

He started clawing at the chain, his face turning red as his air supply was cut off. I kept the chain tight around him as his face changed to blue then purple, all while he frothed at the mouth, his tongue protruding. Slowly, the orange light started to fade from his eyes and his struggles lessened until finally they stopped altogether.

I loosened the chain from around his neck and stepped back, watching dispassionately as the man fell heavily to the ground. I was tired, dirty and now that the fight was over, I was in a lot of pain. Therefore, I was really not too pleased when I heard the unearthly wail from the back of the darkened barn. I turned and watched in dismay as the other slaves quickly scattered, or were brutally hurled, out of the way. I couldn't help but blink in shock when the female version of what I had just fought lumbered over to kneel beside the man, an animalistic wail of sorrow coming from her.

Suddenly, she looked at me and I knew that I was at the top of her list. Just as I was readying myself for a fight that I knew I was probably not going to walk away from, the double barn doors burst open, flooding the area with light as seven men ran in armed with various firearms. The woman turned towards the men who had just entered, screamed in anger and rushed them. I couldn't help but be shocked at how fast she was compared to the male that I had just fought.

The men who entered didn't waste a moment of hesitation, they just started firing. I was dimly aware that everyone was dropping to the floor for cover and that Chris had grabbed and pulled me down as well. I could hear the different weapons as they emptied their clips of bullets into the woman storming towards them. Whether from rage or grief, the hits were barely even slowing her down and she reached one of the men, grabbing him and raising him over her head and slamming him down over her knee, breaking his back all in one movement. The man's screams quieted as he died.

The men started backing out of the room, continually firing the whole time as the woman broke the chains securing her into the room and following them, intent on death and mayhem towards all who got in her way. She finally fell, dead, at the doorway, her body riddled with what seemed like hundreds of bullets.

I rolled to my knees in silent relief, cradling my left arm to my chest and wishing that I had a Percocet. I looked at the man that I had fought and killed and both Slayers whispered that I had gotten lucky, that I shouldn't have walked away from that fight. I was barely even aware when the men came in and removed the dead bodies from the room. I fought the wave of nausea that threatened to overtake me and struggled to my feet. Through the haze of pain, I slowly became aware of the men that had, at some point, surrounded me with guns drawn. Shaking my head to try and clear the fog, I couldn't comprehend what they were saying. I could see Caitlyn, Chris and Sheridan yelling something, but through the agony, I couldn't make heads or tails as to what they were saying.

But I did understand the man coming towards me with the syringe. Faith's Slayer understood it, too. Neither of us could see any reason to stick around at that point and I promptly passed out. The last thought that went through my mind before I sank fully into unconsciousness was:

If Faith could only see me now.

******

"Be careful. She took down a Flesh Eater… with her bare hands."

"Yeah, right. Tell me another one."

"I'm serious! The male we buried, she killed him."

"There's no way that tiny girl took down a Flesh Eater! It took six men with guns to put down the female."

"Hey, I'm only telling you what the cattle's telling me. The male'd set his appetite on Gary's son, this little thing didn't care for that; she's the one who walked away. So, I repeat, be careful."

I listened to the two men go back and forth for a little while; not moving so that I didn't give away that I was conscious. Instinct and self-preservation were running high and something told me that these people were going to want some answers that I didn't necessarily want to give. The big one being how I took out Mr. T-Rex Flesh Eater. Somehow, I didn't think explaining that I was the cop against All Things Evil would go over well. Just going to go out on a limb with that one.

OK, so since I obviously have some free time on my hands while I'm a 'guest' at Slavers R Us, let's take a moment to review my time here in lovely Nevada of the Future.

Let's see… I woke up in the desert, am befriended by a lizard, get lost, get found by the strangest three people I have ever met (and coming from me, that's saying something), find out that there was nuclear war and most of the planet was reduced to rubble, tell my Slayer/searching for my daughter story to a group who had no problem accepting it (that in and of itself was disturbing), made plans to go recon the area for some group called Krell to see if we could get some intel (translation: we were going to beat the information out of them), get captured by slavers who had really good aim with their tranquilizer darts, regain consciousness in a barn with chains on, fight the Monster Truck Flesh Eater (or whatever the hell that was) and now, I find myself chained (with extra chains, I might ad… I don't know if I should be flattered or not) to a chair and being watched by the Short Bus Goon Patrol.

Yeah. So far, this week? – not a high point in my life. Just thought I'd put that out there. Just in case I forget at some point in the future.

Just as I was gearing up for a good long pity party, I heard shouting and the sound of running feet as the men watching me opened the door to see what the commotion was. The shouting was becoming frantic as it approached the door and I was finally able to make out something about 'Krell's pet getting loose' and 'shit hitting the fan'. The two men that were in the room with me began arguing about who would stay with the 'unconscious wench' (I'm going to presume that would be me) and who would venture out and help in the search.

Apparently, I was the lesser of two evils… I'm not sure how to take that.

They quickly made their decisions, with one of the men shoving the other out and slamming and bolting the door shut behind him. AS the shouting and running was added to with gunfire and screams, I couldn't help but wonder what sort of 'pet' this Krell (group or person?) had. I had just about decided to let the guard know that I was actually awake and ask just what exactly was going on… when I felt it.

Just like when a tiger knows that another predator has enter its staked claim, I knew 'something deadly' was near. I could taste it; I could feel it and I knew it would kill whatever was in its way. I decided to wait and see what happened.

The problem was, however, that I couldn't see. When I opened my eyes, I discovered the rat bastards had placed me with my back to the door! OK, so not cool. And maybe I shouldn't have been so quick to open my eyes, as the light that was so brightly shining made my headache instantly feel like a hundred little trolls were busily banging away in my skull with tiny troll hammers. Yeah, I think I'd like to die now.

I closed my eyes in an effort to ease the pain and that's when I realized that the danger was getting closer; just like I could sense it, it knew I was here, too. It was hunting for me. And it was close.

Fighting the need to move, for a wild dog will only attack when you move, I pondered over my options. I couldn't help the small smile over the fact that whatever it was, it thought that it had me unawares. I kept calm and let myself relax, almost slouching in the chair Just as I was about to grow tired of the waiting game, I heard a small noise from behind and then I could suddenly smell the acrid sweet smell of a fatal gut wound. I couldn't help but wrinkle my nose in distaste. Gut wounds were just too messy. I had ruined several sweaters before determining that decapitation was just as effective and if done right, much less messy.

I noted that no cries came from the door, which was impressive. There still had to be guards around, unless they were dead… yet whatever it was had just killed my guard without being seen. A most excellent skill.

Even though I hadn't heard a sound, not even an exhaled breath; I could sense my stalker coming closer towards me. I knew, with my strength and Faith's combined, I could break the chains securing me in place. I just had to decide, do I play this waiting game or not? Faith's Slayer growled, pacing back and forth like a caged panther, waiting for the opportunity to strike. I was beginning to understand a lot about Faith, homicidal tendencies and all. My Slayer kept a tight rein, waiting for my decision.

I could feel the presence, like wind on grass, it was so strong. It was studying me, waiting for my move and that's when I made my decision; no more Miss Nice Buffy…

And I released both Slayers.

*****

The chains broke with a grinding squealing shriek and I leapt from the chair, spun around and faced the danger fully. The Slayers in me readied, waiting for the attack.

Imagine my surprise when I found myself facing a girl no taller than myself, headful of long brown curls, big brown eyes and two wicked looking curved knives covered in blood and gore.

Imagine my surprise even more when something in me put together a puzzle piece and it made sense. Now double that surprise when apparently that same thing happened to her, because at the same time, we both said it:

"Slayer."

You could have heard a mouse fart after that. Then something else occurred to me. Two Slayers. One generation. Not good. Hellmouths tended to blow up when this sort of thing happened.

I couldn't help it. I sat down heavily, dropped my head in my hands and groaned. "Shit."

The girl blinked. "Uh… OK… I'm Kyra. Who are you?"


	11. Chapter Ten

**Title: **Darkness Is A Friend Of Mine | Chapter TEN

**Author:Musesinspire**

**Rating:** R (language, violence, relationships later in story)

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing other than my computer and my car. Buffy belongs to Whedon and Riddick belongs to Vin, One Race and whoever else helped produce it.

*****

_The wolves of war never sleep…_

Dawn couldn't help but find the whole situation more than just a bit ironic. She was realistic enough to know that everything changed and that nothing stayed the same. Empires would rise and fall, evolution mutating all that it came in touch with and modern entertainment just getting worse. But what she just couldn't fathom was how human nature stayed every bit as self-serving and self-motivated as ever. Here she was, sitting alone for the fourth Christmas in a row, no Joyce, no Buffy, alone except for the Scoobies and Spike and Angel… no family. Her real mother, Buffy, had sacrificed herself to save the world; and for what? Nothing had changed. Dawn had found one constant thing in the world and she wished that she hadn't. Buffy had died to save a world that didn't want to be saved.

That is… if the news on Christmas Eve was any indication.

She could hear Anya and Xander arguing in the background about who would sit where at the table and should places even be set for Spike and Angel, at which point they got into a bigger disagreement about how insensitive Anya was and that yes, places should be set! The chaos was added to when Tara and Willow added that a place hadn't been set for Oz and Giles and should they serve scalloped potatoes or mashed potatoes? At that point Anya went off on a tangent about how fattening both were and that…

Dawn tuned them all out and turned back to the news about the world falling apart. India and Pakistan had nuclear weapons, Korea was amassing troops once again on the 38th Parallel and Al Qaeda was sending out chatter on their 'network'. Normally she would have just sighed, turned off the television and gone into the kitchen and helped with dinner. But there was something about the news this afternoon that just captured her and held her there. There was a sense of urgency to the reports. She felt a shiver of apprehension skitter down her awareness. So much could go wrong.

Deciding that she had been cooped up for much too long and that she still needed to get some stocking stuffers for Spike and Angel, Dawn got up and went and got her purse and stole out the front, closing the door on the latest crisis of whether or not to use silver or gold flatware. If she had to decide, Dawn would have chosen plastic ware. Toss it, not wash it.

She got in her car and made her way down to the mall to look for presents and to just have a few minutes to herself. She noticed that when she made her third turn to the mall that there was a late model black SUV that turned with her. She wasn't sure what caught her attention about it, but she kept an eye on it and noticed that every turn she made, they made, always staying three cars behind. She was suspicious, but kept in mind, that it was also Christmas Eve and people other than herself waited until the last minute to shop, too. There were always procrastinators out there.

It was a sad truth.

She pulled into a parking space at the main entrance of the mall and got out, going through her mental checklist of items to look for. She was sorely tempted to get a gag gift of crucifixes, but she wasn't sure if the humor would be appreciated. Ever since Buffy had jumped, Christmas was difficult enough. Light humor may not be the best way to go…

She was walking between the last of the cars, digging through her purse to make sure that she had her credit cards, when she became aware that there was someone standing in front of her, blocking her way. Quickly looking up, she couldn't help but stop and stare in total disbelief. There, before her, was the antithesis of all that Buffy had stood for.

Faith stood in front of her in all of her insolent glory.

Recovering herself, Dawn glanced around, wondering if Faith was alone or if she had some sort of evil monger's henchmen with her hiding in the shadows. Faith caught the action and smirked.

"Don't worry about it, kid. It's just me."

"Were you the one in the SUV on the way here?" Dawn asked.

Faith smirked again. The kid wasn't as dumb as she let everyone think she was. "Yeah, it was me. Didn't think you noticed."

Dawn gave her own smirk. "Guess I have more of Buffy in me than we thought, huh?"

Faith glanced around, taking in the crowded mall and looked back at Dawn.

"Waited until the last minute for presents, is that it?"

Dawn sighed. She really didn't have time for this.

"What do you want, Faith? It's Christmas Eve and you have a tendency to make things go bad when you show up. Should I prepare for an Apocalypse?"

As much as she didn't want to admit it, Faith couldn't help but give Dawn the fact that she was right. She was usually the harbinger of Doom. What's worse, Dawn was right about her this time, too. Just not in the sense she thought. Or at least, she hoped not.

"Look, kid. You're right. I'm not here for a social visit. And I won't sugarcoat it, either. I did something stupid. Incredibly stupid. And I can't fix what I did, but I can fix the outcome somewhat. I can get you somewhere safe so that you can be found when you're needed. Will you trust me?"

Dawn looked at her incredulously.

"You're joking right? You don't actually think I'm going to go anywhere with you, do you?"

Faith sighed. She should have known the kid was going to be a tough sell. She was just like B in a lot of ways.

"Dawnie, look. I-…" Faith began.

"Don't! Don't you dare call me by that name! You don't have the right to call me by that name! Buffy is the last person who called me that and she will always be the last person to call me that." Dawn glared at her enraged. She whirled away and headed to her car, digging her keys out at the same time. She reached the car, slung open the door, got in, slammed it shut, turned it on, threw it into reverse and sped away, not bothering to look if anyone was near and not caring that she may or not have been observed.

She was more than halfway home before she calmed down enough to realize that she still didn't have anything for Christmas for several key members of her 'family' and had to make a side stop at the local pharmacy to get some sort of presents and wrapping paper. Figuring that the thought meant more than the gift, she shrugged at her choices and chose cheap cologne for Angel and equally cheap cigars for Spike. It was all she could get and they had better be glad they were getting that! She took the time to pay and then sat out in the car and started wrapping the presents, getting several paper cuts in the process. She bled for them, they better appreciate her!

****

She took a little more time to herself, calming down to the point that she could think again and made sure that she had the presents, stocking stuffers (after having had to make yet another stop) and drove home. When she pulled up in front of the house, a wave nostalgia swept over her as she 'remembered' all the times Joyce decorated the house when she was younger and how Buffy and she would stay up all night Christmas Eve, trying to guess what they had been given for Christmas, causing Joyce to threaten to take all the presents to some charity for children who appreciated and listened to when their parents told them to go to bed. It had been a different life then.

It hadn't been her life.

Sighing, she gathered everything up and got out of the car and headed up the walk to the front door of the Summers' home, knowing that no matter what she did, what she wished, things could never go back. She needed to accept it. Her friends and her adopted family were still there and that was something that most people had in this world. She had people to love that loved her in return. It was enough. It had to be.

Taking a deep breath, she opened the front door and entered into chaos. Everyone was shouting, Giles was on the phone speaking frantically, Angel was brooding in the corner, Spike was pacing and Willow was crying. Not having any idea what was going on, Dawn headed into the chaos full tilt, setting the presents down at the tree. It was Xander who noticed her first and shouted it to everyone else in the house. She looked around, puzzled.

"Thank goodness! We were getting ready to come and look for you." Giles said in that stuffy way of his.

Dawn looked at the faces surrounding her, staring at her in concern. "Why? You all knew I had to go out for a little while this evening."

They all looked at each other, sharing glances that said a million things to each other and nothing to her. Giles cleared his throat and took his glasses off, polishing them.

Willow broke the silence when she said, "Dawn… weren't you listening to the radio?"

"No…? Should I have been?"

"Dawn…" Willow trailed off. "North Korea just started across the DMZ. And China is threatening to strike. The President has issued a warning that if North Korea does not stop their advancement, we will strike back. World War III could start tonight."

Dawn just stood in amazement as she thought back to what Faith had said. "…something incredibly stupid. But I can change the outcome somewhat…"

And proceeded to faint dead away.

****

When she came to, it was several hours later, almost midnight. Almost Christmas. Dawn wandered downstairs and saw that everyone was asleep, rooms filled and lights off. The Christmas tree was lit and she couldn't help but admire the delicate ornaments all over it that Joyce had collected over the years. It was while she was admiring the tree that she became aware of another presence in the room.

"Is this what you were trying to tell me about, Faith?" she asked.

Faith stepped forward out of the shadows and stood next to Dawn, looking at the tree as well, but not really seeing it. "Yes." She answered quietly.

"You already know what's going to happen, don't you? And it's going to be bad, isn't it?"

"Yeah." Faith said. "But I can't let it. I have to get you somewhere safe. I know where you can go and you'll be safe until B can come and get you. Please trust me, Dawn."

Dawn turned and looked at Faith. Really looked at her. Much to her dismay, she could tell the Slayer wasn't lying.

"How is Buffy going to find me, Faith. She's dead. She's not coming back."

Faith just quirked a smile. "You of all people should know that nothing is permanent if the Powers don't want it to be. Just come with me. We don't have much time."

Dawn looked around and then turned back to Faith. "What about the others? What's going to happen with them?"

"They're being taken care of… not in the way I am you, but they'll be taken to where they'll survive what's coming. I only have so many favors I can call in, and I used most of them on you."

Dawn took a deep breath. She wasn't sure of this. But she had a feeling, something was telling her to go with the Slayer. She hadn't ever really been led wrong when she followed her instincts. She looked up from where she had been staring at the presents under the tree and nodded. She would go.

****

Desert. All there was surrounding them was desert. Deep, black night desert. With no end in sight.

"How much longer, Faith. When you said 'safe', I thought you meant like 'safe-house' safe. Not 'middle of nowhere' safe."

"Trust me. This is about the only place where I can put you that B will find you and you'll be safe. This is the one place where nothing will be tampered with. But I had to call in some major favors for this, kid. Remember that."

Dawn sighed. They had been driving for almost four hours. It was Christmas morning. And she was stuck in a car, with Faith, driving heavens only knew where. This sucked. She leaned over and switched on the radio, but immediately wished she hadn't.

As she listened with increasing horror to the news updates, Faith made a series of turns on dirt roads and pulled up to a chain link fence with a massive gate and guard post. The guards walked forward, but upon seeing the ID that Faith produced for them, waved them in without another word. She pulled up in front a large series of concrete and steel buildings and was greeted by a large man in desert camouflage fatigues with a black beret on his head. He carried a serious arsenal of weaponry on him and looked like a man who was not to be taken lightly.

He introduced himself simply as Krell. She wasn't sure why, but something about him disturbed her greatly. Something in his manner, his eyes.

Lagging behind, Dawn followed Faith and Krell into the building and to the elevators that would lead them down into the underground area of the bunkers. She was only half paying attention to the conversation that was taking place and therefore was completely unprepared when they stepped out the elevator and went into a room off of the hallway. It had a series of what looked like large glass tubes in it.

Krell turned to her and looked her up and down. "You need to get undressed and put these on." He said and handed her what looked like green orderly scrubs.

Dawn turned to Faith, raising an eyebrow.

"Just do it, kid. You won't need your clothes."

Dawn was starting to get suspicious. She started changing into her clothes that Krell gave her, watching out of the corner of her eye as the man in question started to mess with one of the tubes. Somehow, Dawn just had a feeling that there was more to this than she was being told. Fully clothed in the scrubs she turned and looked at Faith.

"What's going on, Faith? Who is this guy and how is he going to help me stay safe until Buffy can get me?"

Faith just gave her a sad look. "I'm sorry, Dawn. This is the only way…"

About that time, Dawn felt strong arms wrap around her and a sharp prick in her neck. Screaming, twisting and kicking, Dawn saw the large man step away from her with a syringe, as she was dragged back towards the tubes. The strong arms picked her up and gently set her down in the tube, laying her back carefully as whatever was in the syringe started causing her to drowsily drift away into unconsciousness.

The last thing she saw was the glass cover coming down over her and then frosting over as she was suddenly colder than she ever had been before.

Faith looked at Krell. "Is that it? Is it done?"

"Yeah, it's done. And so are you."

Faith looked around nervously, as she noticed that several more of the guards had entered into the room. "What are you talking about? We had a deal. You keep Dawn safe, I help you get Morrow."

"And that's what you've done. Morrow's going to come to get the girl. I know him and his people. Deal's done." He turned towards the largest of the guards and said, "Terminate her. Now. Then get in the tubes. The strike started ten minutes ago. We don't have much time." Then he turned and started towards the tubes, motioning for the technicians to get started prepping the rest of them.

Faith was just starting to really react and comprehend the situation when she suddenly felt a hard knocking pain in her back. Reaching up she pulled a tranquilizer dart from her shoulder and looked up at the man who had shot her. Before she could even react, six guards were on her, attacking all at once.

****

Faith tried to save herself. But she didn't stand a chance. Whatever they had shot her with started taking her down like an elephant sedative. She knew she wasn't going to make it alive… she could feel her life slipping away with each hit and pummel. Knowing that she had to do something to help B fight these men who came at you like freight trains, she sent a call out to the primal forces and the Powers.

****

Krell couldn't stop the shiver of fear that went through him when he heard the Slayer call out to her Gods. He would never forget the echo of her words…

"Hear me and do my bidding: give my sister Slayer my gifts… help her slay the Evil and Malice!"


	12. Chapter Eleven

**TITLE:** Darkness is a Friend of Mine (Chap 11)

**AUTHOR:** Muse's Inspiration

**DISCLAIMER:** Please see previous chapter(s)

**NOTES:** Yes!! You're not dreaming! It's an update!! And you can thank the ever lovely **Dhark_Charlotte** for me getting it out to you! She's the Queen of All Awesome Betas! *deep bow to Charlotte*

****

It was never a good sign when two Slayers were in the same place. When they were deliberately put in the same place by The Powers, it was usually a good indicator that they thought that all hell was about to break loose; literally. For reasons that were probably fairly obvious, I wasn't finding a lot of comfort in their decision making abilities. They weren't exactly batting a thousand in my eyes.

Looking at the young Slayer standing in front of me; her battle stance an indication that she'd fight or go down swinging, I was transported to another place and time when a very similar Slayer had stood just as she was challenging the very Fates themselves to try and tame her ferocious spirit. This girl reminded me so much of Faith, it was bordering on being disturbing. She shifted under my perusal, bringing me back to the fact that we weren't exactly in a day spa and could spend all day chatting about our Calling. I could hear chaos out in the halls, people shouting out situation reports and orders echoing through the halls. I looked around and saw that the guard that had been in the room was lying in a pool of blood, sliced from groin to sternum.

Shaking my head, I glanced back at the girl; Kyra, I believe she said her name was...

"Kyra?" The girl looked at me. "OK, so I got the name right... Uh..." I looked at the guard again. "So, I know that right now isn't exactly the best time and all... but... yeah. This," I gestured at the corpse, "isn't really how we do things."

She narrowed her eyes at me.

"Not that it isn't a good kill!" I hastened to reassure her. For all I knew, she was more unbalanced than Faith had been... "You did a good job at... uh... making him..." I was floundering. "Well... making him dead?" I winced. God, that was bad! Even for me. "But, well, Slayers aren't exactly supposed to go around killing humans..." I trailed off.

"Why?"

I started, disconcerted. I wasn't sure what to say to that. I wasn't even entirely sure why, but I also didn't always feel the need to go around killing humans, so I hadn't ever seen why I should examine all the whys and wherefores behind the rules I lived by.

"Because we don't!" There! – That should cover it.

"Why? Some humans are more evil than some of the demons I have killed." Kyra stated.

Now that one, I couldn't really argue with her on. She was right. The fact that lawyers lived and reproduced to make more lawyers proved just how evil humans could be.

"Look, we just… we don't do it. We don't kill humans. Unless it is in self-defense… and even then, we try to subdue them, not maim them."

She shrugged. I had a feeling that this was going to be ongoing issue between us. Right now though, I needed to find Dawn and get the hell out of here. Debating moral issues was not one of my top priorities at this moment.

"Have you been through the building?" I asked her. She nodded. "Have you seen a girl, about your age, long brownish hair, and big green eyes?" She nodded again. I could barely contain by excitement! Maybe The Powers _did_ know what they were doing for once! Dawn was here! "Where is she?! Can you take me to her?"

She shook her head as she squatted down next to the body, looking through his pockets.

That brought me up short. "Why?!"

"She's not here anymore."

I was really gritting my teeth, trying to control my agitation. It was difficult, but I was, for the moment, fighting the urge to throttle Kyra. "Ok… so… where is she?"

"Gone."

That was it! Psycho Slayer or not, I was going to strangle her!

"Krell left with her yesterday morning." She smirked. "I don't think some of her swear words were even human…" She looked at me. "She fought him." Kyra seemed show some respect for that and I couldn't help but feel some pride myself. "He knocked her out." I felt a blast of rage at the thought of someone harming my daughter. "They went north." She stood up from where she had been squatting and headed towards the door.

"Wait!" I called out. She stopped, but didn't turn around. "Who _are_ you, Kyra?"

The girl still didn't turn around, but just shrugged. "I don't know anymore." And just like that, she was out the door and gone.

****

To say that I was bemused, would be an understatement. I shook my head and started out after the girl, catching her as she turned down the next corridor. She looked at me and then continued down to the next intersection in the hallway. "You need something?" she asked.

"Yeah. I do. I need you. You've seen Dawn. I need your help."

She stopped and looked at me for a moment. I felt like she was weighing all options and outcomes in that single moment. "All right. I owe Krell one anyways." She gave a predatory grin that caused a small shiver to run down my spine. This girl was dangerous. I had a moment of trepidation, but I had to find Dawn and this girl knew who had her and how to deal with him. I had no choice… I needed her.

"I need to get the people who came here with me." I told her. She nodded and we headed for the building exit, following instincts that showed us where the way to freedom lay. My head had a million thoughts going on, clamoring all over themselves for my undivided attention. Unfortunately, I needed to pay attention and couldn't focus on what was going on in my head right now… and that just made the thoughts cranky and made them more determined to be noticed.

Forcing myself into the here and now, we quietly reached the exit and left; I must have been completely out of it when I was brought in, because none of what I had passed had looked familiar to me. Spying the barn-like structure where my little 'rendezvous' had taken place with the Flesh Eater, I felt a little anxiety about going back in. After all, the last time I had been in there, I barely made it out alive… and that was something my Slayers were still a little perturbed about.

Stealthily, we made our way through the center of the compound in the night's darkness and worked our way around to the side door and quietly entered the building. It hadn't escaped my notice that the courtyard of the compound was pretty much deserted; everyone was probably in the other building looking for Miss I Need Anger Management. But I wasn't going to complain… it as going to make getting my new comrades out of here that much easier.

My eyes quickly adjusted to the gloom inside the barn and I saw that all the prisoners were still chained and they appeared to be sleeping. I could hear soft snores all around me as I worked my way over to where the G9 team had been placed…

…only to find three sets of empty shackles.

Well I'll be a son of a ….!

They'd left without me!

****

I was pissed. I mean, I can't really blame them… after all, I was just slowing them down and they were out here for a reason; a mission of some sort. But… I mean, I had come back for them! Where had _they_ gone? Nowhere! They had left me, that's where they had gone!

I turned to Kyra, who was glancing around, probably looking to see if there was anyone worth ripping off, and whispered, "I guess we can go. We'll need to pilfer some gear, and then let's head out." I sighed. "I can't believe they deserted me."

Kyra smirked. "They didn't."

"What do you mean, 'They Didn't'? I don't see them here, do you?" I was seriously just getting tired of this whole deal. I just wanted to get headed out.

Kyra gestured to the dirt floor, looking at me like I was an idiot for missing the filth. I walked over to her and looked down. Yep, I was right; it was dirt, all right. I looked at her and raised an eye brow.

She rolled her eyes. "Don't you see? There are larger prints near the boot prints… your friends, they wore boots, right?" I nodded. "Someone released them. Your friends went with whoever released them." She frowned and leaned closer. "These prints…" she stood up and looked away, towards the door. She stared, lost in thought for a few moments, and then shook herself out of it. "We need to go. Now." She turned away and started off, walking through the prisoners, never making a sound and not once disturbing any of them. She was like an animal of prey, aware, dangerous and waiting for her chance to pounce. She was what a Slayer was supposed to be.

I wasn't too proud to admit it, I was a little jealous.

****

I followed after her, stamping down my insecurities with a ferocious disregard for their feelings. I knew I was going to pay hell for it later, but right now, there was a much larger picture to consider. The first being, who the hell was Krell and what did he want with my daughter and two, who had released the G9 team? Had the team gone with them willingly or had they been forced to? I was going to have to find the team, as I had a sneaking suspicion that they would know, and be a little more forthcoming with it, about this Krell guy.

As I crept through the night after Kyra, I noticed that she seemed to be a part of the quiet darkness, rather than something moving within it. I was more than a little distracted, which is never good when you're a Slayer, and therefore I wasn't quite prepared when once we reached the outside and the cool night air of the desert for Kyra to suddenly take off at a flat out run.

I know I probably looked like a fish out of water, my mouth working but no sound coming out, as I stood there in stupefied shock watching her disappear into the darkness.

I was really starting to take issue with people just leaving me behind. I mean, I know I needed a shower, but c'mon! This was getting ridiculous! I sighed in irritation and took off after the younger Slayer.

As I sprinted along, I became aware of a sensation… it was the only way I could describe it. Like warm water flowing over smooth rock, it felt fluid and graceful. There was someone watching me. It wasn't in a predatory way; not in the least. I don't know how I could tell, but the gaze of whoever was watching was appreciative. It was unnerving and it caused me to slow to a jog and eventually come to a full stop as I looked around, trying to pinpoint in the night where the feeling was coming from. I was surrounded by boulders and as I gazed through the moonlit night, I caught a flash of silver as it passed by my right. Whirling in that direction, I tried desperately to see what it was that was out there, only to find nothing.

Deciding that I hadn't grown to be one of the oldest Slayers alive by doing things the quiet way, I decided to take the bull by the horns as it were.

"I know you're out there!"

Silence greeted my announcement.

I sighed. Why did they always want to be mysterious? "Kyra? You out there?"

I heard a pebble skitter down the side of the boulders off to my left and I quickly whirled in that direction, but again, found nothing there.

"Look, I have better things to do than play hide and seek all night!"

Suddenly, I felt a chill come over me as a deep chuckle stole through the night, breaking the endless silence. Following it, in a voice like dark, honey whiskey came the words, "The night is never a good place to hide…"

Turning in circles, I frantically looked to see where the voice was coming from. But for the life of me, I couldn't locate its source anywhere!

"Why is that? Why shouldn't I hide in the dark?" I asked, trying to buy time.

"Because…" the voice, deeply male and vibrant, said from right behind me, "it's not always a friend."

I spun around and had to take several steps back as I quickly encountered a wall of muscle. I took a few more steps back and my breath caught when I got a full look at what was in front of me…

He might be a man, but he looked like a god. Tall, heavily muscled, gleaming skin stretched taut showing off said muscles to the maximum… He was bald, shaved, but it definitely worked for him, making him seem even more enticing and appealing. Both of my Slayers perked up and took notice. The lips were full and currently quirked into half smile as he took his fair look at me as well… but it was the eyes that captured me and wouldn't let me go. They gleamed in the night, like a predator's should. They saw all and never missed a thing… silver. They were what I had seen and I didn't bother to hide the shiver that the thought sent through me; whether from trepidation or appreciation, I wasn't sure. I kind of thought that Faith's Slayer was more than a little interested in the male specimen in front of me… it was the only explanation for some of the half thoughts crossing my mind at the moment.

Shaking myself out of the moment, I suddenly became aware of another man, almost as large and muscled, walking up behind the man that was the object of my Slayers' scrutiny. While he was quite attractive, he didn't even garner a second glance as I fought the Slayers' desire to keep tabs on the man in front of me.

But before I could say another word, the large man with the silver eyes snapped his gaze behind me and was suddenly a massive mound of coiled muscle, waiting to strike. Curiosity being a bitch and all, I couldn't help it and turned around, wanting to see what put this mountain on alert.

…only to find Kyra a few feet away, staring at the two men behind me, pale and shaking.

"Riddick…" she breathed out and then turned and sprinted away into the night again.

"Well, shit." Now what was I supposed to do?


End file.
